Organizational leadership and teamwork at board level

When I took over as president of a non-profit organization, I had no idea of ​​the depth of the challenges facing the new board of directors. Our Chapter had been alive for 16 months, officially and unofficially for 24. In January, we only had 11 members and half of those who were on the table. Our program has had very low participation. We had no energy and it showed. The year before, we only had a handful of board meetings. As Vice-President at that time [and certainly not in line for the Presidency, I was not sure where the organization was headed. I focused the group with the following steps:

1. Creation of the structure. Everyone works better when they know not only what to expect, but what is expected from them. I spent several days detailing plans to take us where we need to be. The old saying "How do you eat an elephant?" certainly we are well suited. We made is that the governing documents, statutes and policies and procedures, but they needed an overhaul. They could not be reviewed until they are reviewed by the board of administration. The current Board did not know we had these documents. I asked the Council to accept the responsibility for keeping their part of the manual to meet what they were doing. We started e-board relationships with each other before the meeting, the board meeting, a quick review of the relationship was all that was necessary. This allowed us to spend more time on new business, the future that was in our hands.

2. Relate your vision. The board as a team will make this a reality ... everyone needs to know not only how high is that hill, but what awaits them at the top. It was not appropriate to share my vision last start was much bigger than anything that had been previously suggested. It 's been to our summer event that I shared my vision of the organization with the card. At that time could imagine, could see and understand the "greatness" of it.

3. Empower the card. Take the position on the board that they do for a reason, give them leeway to do what they believe works best for their commission and for the chapter. Most of our board meetings were spent brainstorming, what we as a chapter in a position to offer and get the word out to our potential customers. Members took the initiative to put all our members and prospects in a web-based email. E-mail would come from the address section and not the email address of someone. They also continued to talk with prospects, find out what they wanted and getting them to participate. PR has kept us in the local newspapers and publications, ensuring we had a place in the meeting announcements. Our Secretary / Treasurer kept track of all the invigorating ideas thrown around the table, made sure we were aware of the action items we decided to complete, and ensured that we had the money to achieve our objectives. We have the power to change our webmaster of the site, as he saw appropriate in the interest of our chapter, and let the other members of the board knows what it did. The programs have been key to our success, and we kept them strictly connected with the industry. Any request I received from a speaker who want to get in front of us was asked "What does your program has to do with our industry?" We tour mixed with speakers of the sector in a more traditional style meetings. We participated in industry events in the area, proudly wearing our Chapter pole, for now we have a chapter to be proud of.

4. Being a 'servant leader' ... ask how you can help them, give them ideas, praise them, encourage them, to know when they can be over their heads, ask what you can do and follow through. They can feel confident about what they are doing, and give them the support and confidence they need, will do wonders. I have worked with each council member to build our foundation one step at a time, one layer at a time. In the excitement that I felt had triggered the members to stay focused, it was very easy for us to go out in many different directions, thus achieving nothing.

5. Remember, the card is a team. Expect disagreements, but honor and respect each other. Together we can work miracles! As a team, we have excelled!...