Association Leadership - September/October 2008 - (Page 24)

What Does the Board Do Anyway? Though the basic responsibility of setting the tone of an organization hasn’t changed, how a board of directors accomplishes that goal has. These association executives report their boards are moving away from operational concerns and toward setting strategic direction. Citing just one example, the International Facility Management Association’s Linda Beverly reports, “The members of our board of directors are highly targeted. It is an international board in scope, with members from Europe this year, and from Asia and Canada in years past. And we have selected the board based on some of our strategies for the future.” Today’s board, Beverly continues, must be thinking at the “50,000-foot level.” And unlike the past, no one on IFMA’s board comes in as a “do-er. They are on our board to bring the strategy and ideas to us. It’s not necessarily that we want someone who’s going to roll up their sleeves and bring in 10 new members, because that’s really our staff’s responsibility. Instead, we want them to help us identify the kinds of people that should be members and the places out there that we’re not tapping into to bring them in.” Jackson says it’s important to start small, with concrete responsibilities, especially when developing the organization’s future leaders. “It’s important to create a path to leadership and make the ﬁrst steps pretty small, because unless you get them to take the ﬁrst step, you’re never going to get them to move down the path. We really work with our local chapters and staff, and part of what they do is they try to assist those chapters in broadening their volunteer participation. And we try to make it concrete – a committee that has the responsibility of getting six sponsors for a golf tournament, for example. That’s v very concrete, and it’s not overwhelming. T There’s the ﬁrst step to leadership. You n need to make sure you have a lot of those ﬁrst-grab opportunities.” Everett adds, “Keeping in mind that all v volunteers are busy, it is important to give th hem jobs that are interesting and ones th feel they can contribute to. Don’t just hey give them busy work.” If the resources are available, Floyd sa says headquarters staff can go a long way to making the volunteer’s life easier. “One of the things we try to do, especially at the state level where you’re asking people to make a commitment of two years in a state ofﬁce, is that we have done everything possible to streamline and strengthen the support that we can give them from within the headquarters ofﬁce. In other words, we don’t want them to be doing menial tasks like stufﬁng envelopes or trying to get a mailing out or communicating with the membership in some way that’s going to be labor-intensive for them.” Another caution – beware of getting too cozy with the status quo. Particularly in smaller organizations, leadership positions can sometimes resemble the high school clique, impossible for outsiders to break into. Donahoo says, “Reach out to the new people coming into the organization. You’ve always got to make sure that whenever you’ve got people who’ve been around for awhile, that comfort level you feel can easily be a turn-off, and so you’ve got to reach out to the new people coming in. Reaching out needs to be ﬁrst and foremost on our list of making sure we integrate the new member and the new volunteer into the organization.” THE EMBASSY SUITES SAN MARCOS THE NATURAL CHOICE At the gateway of Texas Hill Country, the Embassy Suites San Marcos is surrounded by great things to see and do, like kayaking through the Rio Vista Falls or glass-bottom boat rides along Aquarena Springs. You’ll be able to relax and enjoy complimentary transportation to nearby Tanger & Prime Outlet Centers, as well as a spacious two-room suites, outdoor pool, Evening Manager’s Reception*, Complimentary Cooked-to-Order Breakfast and much more. Call today for reservations or visit sanmarcosembassysuites.com. Another exceptional hotel by John Q. Hammons *Subject to state and local laws. Must be of legal drinking age. Hilton HHonors® membership, earning of Points & Miles®, and redemption of points are subject to HHonors Terms and Conditions. ©2008 Hilton Hotels Corporation San Marcos Hotel, Spa & Conference Center 1001 McCarty Lane, San Marcos, TX 78666 512-392-6450 24 389753_Embassy.indd 1 Association LEADERSHIP | September/October 2008 7/12/08 4:48:04 PM http://www.sanmarcosembassysuites.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Association Leadership - September/October 2008

Association Leadership - September/October 2008 Contents President’s Column Homepage 60-Second Solutions An Interview with TSAE’s New Chairperson TSAE’s Newest Board Members Vetting Volunteers Orientation of Volunteer Leaders Get on Board – Qualification Considerations Questions to Ask Before Saying Yes Liability Insurance for Volunteer Leaders Committee Planning TSAE’s Annual Golf Outing Congratulations to Our New CAEs Perspectives Association Case Study New Members Community Spotlight San Antonio Beaumont Index to Advertisers Advertiser.com The Lighter Side of Associations

Association Leadership - September/October 2008

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