I get to meet a lot of board members and one the questions that gets played on repeat is, "As a board member, how can I best help my chamber or economic development organization?" 

When I served on a board for the first time, it was shared with me that I was there for one of three reasons... for my time, my talent or my treasure. But I don't see that same equation in place for the most dynamic chambers I've witnessed... 

I was working with a chamber outside Houston Texas a few years back and prior to my presentation to the board, I was taking note of how my friend Keri - the chamber CEO - had organized her board into focus areas and how these board members seemed so much more engaged than any other board I had ever seen before. 

Here are three simple steps you can use to clarify the roles of board members at your chamber or EDC: 

1. Create focus areas called Governance, Internal and External. Governance is your executive board committee. Internal is operations,...