Knowing Your Role

Living life in an organization is interesting. To say the very least!

Some colleagues do their job, and only the job. They study the job description and learn the borders of what is theirs to do, and what duties belong to others. They defend their position. They do not extend themselves to help others. Seemingly, they avoid responsibility or ‘blame.’

Other colleagues gladly go beyond their job descriptions and help others with their assignments. They are not grasping for attention or praise, they do it because they see themselves as part of a team.

Team. An ideal often not attainable in many workgroups. Too bad for them. Their jobs become boring, uninteresting. Maybe even drudgery?

In teams, the outcome is the goal. The organization’s larger purpose or mission provides the focus of what our work means. Pulling together, helping each other, builds strength and momentum toward the desired outcome. The sense of achievement is the reward. Team spirit results and empowers even better outcomes.

The same with authority groups like boards of directors. Their purpose is to direct the future of their organization. They own the responsibility for its financial stability while serving the mission set down in their incorporation documents. Are they fully supporting that mission? Do they dream of the long-term future they are building if the mission is successful? That is the organizing theme of their work.

Their job is not to control staff. Their job is to muster and gather resources to support the mission. Raising funds is one such role. Safeguarding those funds and other resources is also their job, to protect the stability of the organization. Empowering their Executive Director or CEO, is another primary function. Empowerment not control.

In truth the board has but one employee – the Exec Director. All other staff report to the Exec Director, not the board. The board funds the organization and causes multiple staff positions to be created. Those jobs are not theirs to manage; the Exec Director has that responsibility and duty.

Many boards miss this point entirely. They think of themselves as the boss. They can hire and fire people. No; they authorize the creation of those jobs by funding them and approving the organization chart. Their on-going duty is to empower the success of the assembled organization to meet the demands of the mission, and vision.

All too often board members frustrate the very outcomes they dream of producing. The staff does the work. Is the mission properly defined and communicated? Is the vision of future success goals well defined? Is the organization resourced well enough to do the work required to meet mission?

Personalities and human resource issues are not the concern of the board unless desired outcomes are endangered. Then the board needs to address those issues, study the problem and ask professionals to propose solutions. Deciding on the proper course of action is their authority to exercise. Implementing the solution is the job of the Executive Director and his/her staff.

Roles include definitions, job descriptions and authority levels. They are best understood within a team of dedicated colleagues. They are best carried out with a firm dedication to the mission and vision of the organization.

June 24, 2022

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more