It's a given that nonprofit and for-profit boards have different motivations for doing what they do for their organizations. Nonprofit board members seek increased social impact and the fulfillment of their missions; for-profit board members seek increased shareholder value. Most nonprofit board members serve voluntarily and without compensation, whereas on the corporate side, government regulation and pressures from activist investors require highly prescriptive board roles for which members are paid for their time and expertise.

But do these differences mean that there aren't lessons to be learned from those who have served on both types of boards? To find out, we're posing four questions to leaders who bring years of deep service on both corporate and nonprofit boards. Our first discussion is with Patricia Bellinger, who is the executive director and adjunct lecturer at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is a director of Sodexo USA and Pattern Energy Inc., and serves on the nonprofit board of trustees of Facing History and Ourselves and uAspire.

Here's what Bellinger had to say.

Based on your corporate board experience, what do nonprofit boards do well?

It's not apples to apples because the objectives between the two are so different, but I find that nonprofits do a much better job linking to the big picture, their place in the world, and their mission. Many of the nonprofits I know ooze and breathe their missions; every one, at every level of the organization seems to take pride in the mission. Corporations have lofty missions, too, but they're often less palpable and they don't harness this power as well. I don't actually think it's expensive for companies to allow for more community involvement, but it will only be real if senior leaders engage authentically. Nonprofit leaders model this daily.

Based on your corporate board experience, what should nonprofits spend more time on?

I'm struck by the greater focus on talent development in the corporate world because such a high percentage of nonprofits provide people-intensive services. The truth is that investment in talent isn't always expensive. Ninety percent of talent development is learning on the job and it's about leaders prioritizing and delivering this. I'm not saying corporations get this right every time, but corporations tend to invest time and resources to develop and retain great people, and nonprofits could be more intentional about this by doubling down on the training and expertise needed for strategy and leadership development.

Read the full article about nonprofit boards at The Bridgespan Group.