Association Leadership - September/October 2008 - (Page 27)

volunteers: orientation Orientation of Volunteer Leaders Defined roles and responsibilities help build a strong board rienting the Board After elections, After elections, orientation key to orientation is key to a successful year. Man successful year. Many organizations disregar organizations disrega d it because the board or because chairperson thinks it isn’t chairp ks it isn’t important import t or there isn’t re sn’t enough time enough t me. Orientat o Orientation is the opportunity for s aff opportunity for staff to explain xplain board responsibilities, the board board responsibi ties, the boa dstaff relationship and rgan za ional goals staff relationship and organizatio goals. A well-planned orientation t kes t to well-planned orientation tak two three hours and makes a t n impact. three hours and makes a lasting im It should not be something squeezed should not ometh ueeze into the coffee break into the coffee break at a meeting. Some eeting Some g associations have a new board memb s associations have all new board members mber attend the orientation, some include the attend the orientation, some include th entire board and others v s one entire board and others visit one on one with each individual board mem e with each individual board member. • • • • • • • • • • Ar e Articles of incorporation Rules of Order l Member Beneﬁts/Services M Policies o Ins nsurance/ board member liability Annual Budget A Monthly ﬁnancial reports Audit report Investment Policy Roles and Responsibility of Board o rd The most common format for an or o orientation manual is a three-ring bi der. ng n bin The table of contents can serve as the e as orientation agenda. Other formats include mat a virtual manual hosted on a Web site or a eb CD-ROM with all contents. well-being of the organization and -being b mus mu must be supported by everyone, no matter whether they voted for or against motions. Finances Count – Spend extra time t with the elected treasurer to build conﬁdence in understanding and presenting ﬁnancial reports. You want a treasurer that can satisfy the leadership that safeguards exist and he or she has the complete picture of assets. Respect for Chair and Agenda – All discussion and motions go through the e chairperson who maintains order and e and runs a fair and efﬁcient meeting. The t meeting. purpose of an agenda is to focus on agenda focus on important matters and to avoid sidebar t matters and avoid sidebar chat that create antitrust or libel risks, hats that reate antitrust ibel isks, for instance. r instance. Run Like Business Suc s f Run Like a Business – Su cessful nonproﬁ are complex v nonproﬁts are complex, even becoming om n m management companies the elves. management companies themselves hemse Many boards oversee c mbinatio Many boards oversee a comb natio of ion foundations, pol foundations, po itical action co mittees ctio committe o e and for-proﬁ ompanies (Reme ber and for-proﬁt companies. (Remember p e the t the term “not-for proﬁt” is only a h not-for-p o nly classiﬁcation and doe not mean the ﬁcation a on oes not mean the e organization should not make a proﬁt t or build reserves!) Be Futurists – The board’s role is not micromanagement but rather setting the course to guide the organization to best serve the trade or profession. Keep the leadership focused on the future; help them monitor trends and provide reports to anticipate and make e a assumptions about members’ needs. Obsession – If there is one obsession Ob f ther ere n at at the board table, it should be o the oard ta ab ho o on h mission, vision and value. Work and o o v ue. resourc h resources should be directed at the d ect t the goals in the strateg plan. The plan is oa n th he egic a plan i your organization’s roadmap. r g nz o dm p ◆ • • The Orientation Agenda Boards think of orientation as a static t presentation about the organization’s n’ history and purpose. They spend 100 0 percent of the time listening and never r disc dis uss leader responsibilities. O Orientation discussion should be allocated to include discussions of 30 c perc percent history, purpose and operations; 30 percent board roles and responsibilities; 15 percent on board risks, and 25 percent goals and how to achieve them. n how • Orientation Manuals An orientation manual transfers orientation manual transfers knowledge volunteers. Give them knowledge to volunteers. Give them the information and tools they need be information and tools they need to be good leaders early their term. good leaders early in their term. Few volunteers nderstan the Few volunteers understand the n m chan s boardmansh mechanics of boardmanship. While each e each director may be good at run ing a business ector be good at runn busine s e or the best in his or he profession, they est n her e may el uneas with may feel uneasy with agendas, rules of e h s orde , onproﬁ nances ord r, non oﬁt ﬁnance and governance. oﬁt anc r Once you reate manua Once yo create a manual it is easy to s update annuall St update annually. Stress to leaders that the leaders that manual manual has the answers needed fo good answers needed for d gov r n and n governance and can reduce calls to the l staf with questions hat staff with questions that can be answered e by its contents. contents. Here are some items Here are some items to include in yo u your manual. • Bylaws Bylaws • Calendar of Events Calendar en •B Board, Staff Rosters • Committees, Chapters • Budget • Mission Statement • History-Fact Sheet • Strategic Plan • Barriers Thes gov The e governance obstacles that should ve ac be discussed at orientation us o • Sacred Cows – Anything that is ed Cow ythi tha thing hat regarded a untouchable. For example, ar d as uchable. For r a board member who never s oa memb who ever shows mber up but has b been on the board for a he boa y year. Or a pet project that has cos the ha has cost e a orga rganization time and money with tion and o e with minimal re n, but is favored by a small l return b s av r a group. • Size Matte – The aver ge board s ze tters vera boa d size is 19 persons. Larger boards can be s s rger boards can be unwieldy un ieldy and costly. Nonproﬁt boards ostly. Nonproﬁ boa d are downsizing to expedite decision are downsizing to expedite decisiono m king. making. • Personal Agendas – Ask leaders to Pers n Agendas ds c eck pers n agendas check personal agenda at the door. The actions The actions of the board are for the h • N NOTE: Robert C. Harris, CAE, conduc s a CAE, conduct association t association strategic planning and s iatio n l leadership development. He can pe nt. be contacted a bob@rchcae.com or t at ob@rchcae c 850/570-6000. 0 0-6000. September/October 2008 | Associat on LEADERSHIP 27 t ber 00 Asso iati LEADERSHIP

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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