“The board president told me that the bylaws committee is meeting this week. I asked the President why I didn’t know about this meeting, and why I wasn’t asked to coordinate the meeting as it stipulates in my job description that I should. The president replied that he would ask the chair, and I told him I would like to be present at the meeting.
Later he called to say that the committee chair said this meeting was just going to be a discussion meeting, and they didn’t need me there. I suggested that regardless of the chairman’s intent, minutes should be taken and an agenda prepared. My feeling is that this is not our policy, and not good leadership. What should I do?” *
For those of us who have been around a while, this is a familiar scenario. Sometimes it occurs as a result of lack of understanding on the part of the leadership, and sometimes it’s the handwriting on the “We’re not renewing your contract” wall. But regardless of the motive, it shouldn’t happen.
Alice the AE is right:
1.Minutes need to be taken of meetings. To let casual backroom meetings take place with no line of official communication to the board of directors is just bad leadership and can result in a very dysfunctional situation, and
2.Alice’s attendance at all committee meetings is in her job description (and possibly in the bylaws) and this committee chairman is coming between Alice and her ability to fulfill her employment promise to the association.
So what should Alice do? I’ll tell you my suggestions, but I’d like to hear from the rest of you as to what steps Alice should take.
My suggestion is that Alice call the committee chair directly, not making the board president the go-between. She should assume that the committee chair doesn’t understand the procedure that’s been spelled out, and that he’s also putting Alice in a very precarious situation by not permitting her to do her job. She should mention that she understands NAR’s model bylaws and the need to recognize areas of necessary compliance: keeping the association out of hot water is also one of the responsibilities of her AE position.
If the chairman still refuses to have her there at the meeting, my suggestion to Alice is that he be asked to communicate his wishes to the board of directors in writing, so that they are in understanding of the situation and the fact that Alice is capable and willing of meeting the functions outlined in her job description. She, too, may want to file an informational report on the situation with the directors, if it comes to that.
Very likely, it’s just that the chairman doesn’t understand, and is trying to spare Alice a trip across town. Maybe. But it’s situations like these that signal the need for an annual review of the board operating policies in a training session for both returning and new members of the leadership team.
OK. What would you have done????
*(ed. note: this letter is not a direct quote, but the point of the letter is accurate)
A behind the scenes look at organized real estate--what works in an association, what doesn't, and what a long time AE sees as challenges facing the industry from the viewpoint of its professional organization.
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