Stepping up as chair when your organization faces challenges
In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel President Jeff Jowdy speaks with Marty Dickens about an aspect of board leadership that doesn’t get talked about much – being ready, willing and able to stand up and make tough calls when they’re needed.
Marty recently retired as chairman of the board of trustees of Belmont University after serving 17 years.
In their discussion, Marty addresses:
- Several challenges he has faced as board chair over 17 years and how he handled them?
- The personality traits that define a successful board chair when it comes doing what needs to be done when an organization faces challenges
- Advice for new board chairs when it comes to weathering any storms that come along.
About our guest
Marty Dickens recently retired as chairman of the board of trustees of Belmont University after serving 17 years in that role. He also is a city commissioner for the city of Belle Meade, Tennessee.
He has served on many corporate as well as nonprofit boards. He is a current board member of Pinnacle Bank and Smith Seckman Reid and past chairman of the board of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee, Lee Company and Harpeth Companies.
Marty is a founding member of Avenue Bank and past chairman of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Nashville Convention Center Authority.
His board responsibilities aside, Marty’s career has been with the Bell System, beginning in 1969 when he went to work with AT&T and ending in 2007 when he retired as president of AT&T Tennessee.
