"Who's on First?"

Dear Dadie: Here's a question from the heartland. What can be done to get a board to govern and leave the managing to the staff? Every two or three years we bring in an outside consultant (and we have had great ones!) to go through the litany of roles and responsibilities. But this is like water off a duck's back...it never sinks in. Any thoughts on how to change this?

Dear Tom: This is the plot-line of every association soap opera. It keeps consultants employed and is the single biggest irritant to staff. Let's get at it. There is a lot of listening and positive head nodding at any good one-time, board training event. There may also be an "Aha" when there is something practical that you can take home. But only rarely does that stick, because it is behavior, not ill-will, mal-intent or lack of having heard the message that fuels this perpetual problem. And behavior only changes when those who exhibit it want to change it.

The solution: Don't rely on the one shot training, even if done annually. You need to change the culture of the organization, so that acceptable boundaries become internalized and each generation of leader and staff know in their gut "how we really do our business around here". And give some thought to how you interact with the board as well. Here's the drill:

1. Have a cultural self-assessment done by a competent expert. Good instruments will provide information on the culture that exists and the culture preferred by the group. Once the gap is identified, it can be closed.
   
   
2. Do a facilitated follow-up around scenarios: short, clearly stated situations that staff and leaders can address together and that reflect the identified gap. These must be custom designed for your organization.
   
   
3. After each case is analyzed, ask the group, "What did we learn?" Help the group identify what if anything sounds familiar, and what the implications are for their organization. That is the beginning of a Code of Behavior, only useful if it designed by those who will be expected to follow it. You will begin to bridge the cultural divide.
   
   
4. Produce the Code, circulate it, and at the next board meeting, approve it and discuss what it means and how to monitor it. Come prepared with ideas. One of our clients has a whistle that is under the control of a different board member at each meeting. When the board gets away from "what" decisions, and starts straying into "how" decision, the whistle blower goes to work. Transgressions begin to disappear when the sinner decides to change, not when the organization thinks he/she should.
   
   
5. For post-board problems, often the worst, the Code should enable a civil conflict management discussion, preferably one on one. This too takes some training so that it can be successfully handled without an outside mediator.
   
   
6. After six months, bring the neutral facilitator back to a board meeting to handle a frank discussion of what's working and what isn't. Remember: The full staff needs to be part of this, because they are often equal culprits, enabling micro-management, overtly or covertly.
   
   

Association DNA loads our genes with distractions from what all of us should be doing... staying focused on what success would look like... not on how to get there. Don't throw in the towel yet. Institutionalize proper behavior before inappropriate behavior institutionalizes you!

Have a problem? Email Dadie Perlov, a CMG Principal, at dadie@virtualcmg.com

Association Trends - May 24th, 2002. Reprinted with the permission of Association Trends.

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Dadie Perlov, CAE