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REALTOR® ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE
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| MANAGING AND DIRECTING BOARDS OF DIRECTORS A new Q & A with James A. Link, EVP of the Southland Regional Associatino of REALTORS®, Calif. January 28, 2001. Q. What are your most effective techniques for keeping Boards of Directors meetings running efficiently? A. Have a carefully planned and detailed agenda; make sure the President or Chairman of the Board is fully briefed on all agenda items including who will be making presentations and reports and, most important, keep the meeting focused on the business at hand. Q. How do you and your board president share meeting duties? Does one or the other of you do most of the managing at meetings? Why does this work well? A. Staff's role in meeting management takes place well in advance of the actual board meeting. Our job is to make sure the recommendations and information emanating from committees, work groups, etc. is properly prepared and complete. In our association, we have a standard format for all recommendations. These "recommendation pages" contain the issue, all supporting data and the actual motion. Also added is the action of other committees where appropriate, such as finance or executive committees. The board of directors' agenda is more of an index referencing the appropriate recommendation pages or exhibits. We prepare a draft agenda, review it in detail with the President and jointly decide on which items will be included on the consent agenda. Once the meeting starts, the President is in charge. If we have done our job right, he or she is fully prepared and should have no problem running the meeting. Q. How have you changed how you conduct meetings over the years? Have you learned any new techniques for managing time? A. Time is the critical factor here. Members are just not willing to dedicate as much time to association meetings as they used to. So, if we are going to attract the "best and brightest" to get involved, we have to use the time they give us efficiently. Not too many years ago, our board meetings averaged four hours. Now, two hours is a long meeting, yet the business of the association is getting done more efficiently. Some simple things have fostered this. First is liberal use of the consent agenda and provide as much information to the directors in advance. Less time is spent bringing them up to speed in the meeting. Second is to actually time the agenda and print it on the agenda itself. Each agenda item is allotted so many minutes with the estimated adjournment time printed at the end. It's amazing how often the directors will get themselves back on track if they see themselves f alling behind. Q. Have you incorporated technology into your board of directors meeting structure? We like many associations, use e-mail and the internet to transmit meeting notices, post exhibits, etc. A. We have conducted limited meetings via e-mail by noticing the directors of an item to be considered, giving them time to review the information posted on our website and then submit a vote. This has been successful in those instances when a decision is basically yes or no, with no need for lengthy debate. Q. What is the most outrageous thing that's ever happened at one of your board meetings and how did you handle or resolve it? A. We actually had one director bite another on the hand! It happened over 20 years ago at a special call meeting involving some very controversial circumstances. Tempers were short, obviously. One lady director rose to take very loud issue with a ruling by the chair, the gentleman sitting next to her reached up, touched her wrist and asked her to calm down. She grabbed his hand and bit it! How did I handle it? First was to keep the President from using the gavel as a weapon. Next, along with several of the directors, was to calm down all parties. After a while, decorum was reestablished and apologies offered. I can't think of anything that will ever top that one. Q. Have you ever dreaded having a particularly loud or controversial member on your board? How can an A.E. fix the bad apple on the board? A. First, controversial or loud doesn't necessarily equate to a bad apple. We've had several fit into the controversial or loud category and, fortunately, few I would classify as bad apples. I've found that the best way to deal with a director who is always contrary or contentious is to meet with him or her and try to find out exactly what the point of contention is. Often it is a misconception of how the association is really run or decisions made. Spending time listening and explaining openly usually calms things down. Q. What materials or orientation do you give your board of directors at the beginning of each year? Are techniques for having effective meetings covered in your leadership retreats? A. We hold a leadership planning session each year in which among other things we review the various policies and procedures of the association, the role of the board of directors and a review of Roberts Rules of Order. Recently we've asked our facilitators to put less emphasis on process (Roberts Rules) and more on desired results. This sets the tone for the most important part of the session; the actual planning. The various committee chairs and directors start planning the programs and activities for the year in order to meet the association's vision and strategic objectives. In other words, the agenda for the year is laid out. Meetings throughout the year, therefore, should be for the purpose of evaluating progress toward the desired results consistent with the agenda; not to get bogged down in detail or process. Q. Any other key thoughts on how to get the most work, innovation, passion and dedication out of boards of directors? Directors are supposed to be leaders. A. Their role is to set the vision, direction and policies of the association. They should concentrate on the "big picture" and leave the detail to the appropriate committee or staff. A true leader relishes this role. The most successful boards of directors are those that don't just understand this role but are given the proper encouragement, authority and environment to carry it out. |
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