Reply: Board Size and Role
By Susan B. Waters, CAE, Sextant Consulting

Uh, oh. For once I agree mostly with Henry.
Maybe I need a vacation or something!

I think the debate about volunteer-driven versus staff-driven associations is off the mark and from a time long gone (so 20th Century!). The fact of the matter is that most associations are more reliant on staff today than they were 10 years ago because of demographic changes and changes in the values of a new generation. It is rare to find volunteers who have the time to be intimately involved in the operations of associations, and even harder to find volunteers, a few with personal agendas aside, who want to spend their time on operations. We have spent a lot of time and effort trying to train our member boards to be strategic rather than tactical; let’s not backslide.

The questions to be answered are not who has the ideas, but whether the ideas move the association toward its vision and mission, and whether the ideas serve the members and any other stakeholders sharing in the beneficence of the association. I’m not surprised that Henry has found volunteer boards to be evenly split when asked whether they want more staff or member control ­ it is simply not the issue. What boards of directors and their professional staff should be discussing is where we are we going, why, and how. We need all of the brain power and passion we can get, and shared trust between those who labor in the field represented by the association and those who have dedicated their professional lives to advancing the association is ideal. Certainly, frank discussion is needed to build the culture of trust and performance.

I agree with Henry’s characterizations about the different roles boards can fulfill: a delegate assembly for major policy only; a fundraising body; a communications and advocacy body; or a more operational board. Associations should decide what role they want played by the board, and then pick their designs, and many might do well to revisit past decisions.

As to ASAE and The Center, the merger was a bold move driven, so far as I can tell, by both members and professional staff. All of us have a stake in the outcome. The merging has not been altogether smooth ­ who thought it would be? Here’s hoping that the two boards and the professional staff, along with member input and influence, make wise decisions on our behalf.

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