Hello all! I am in need of some serious advice. I am going to be specific
about my question rather than general--and most of you will agree that this
is a sticky situation. I am the Director of a new children's museum in Ohio.
We opened last August and I started in September. Our Board, until that
time, was extremely hands-on. Many were personally involved in the
development of the museum. After I was hired, they took a more formal role.
Actually, it was not until November when they developed board committtees.
From November on, many of the committtees have been fairly active, but none
as active as the Marketing Committee. They have had a tall order and have
done their job well, making great decisions that for the most part, the
Board has supported. In April the Board voted to approve a new
organizational logo. In June, the Marketing Committee reported that it would
run a logo naming contest locally for children. Our Marketing Chair, who is
in management at a local television station, helped us by developing PSAs
for their station and others. A local parenting magazine gave us a half page
ad in their publication for free (they were going to be promoted in the
PSA.) Needless to say, the deal was great because this magazine has given
us 6 months free for the publicity they got. This past week, the committee
reviewed close to 100 names. The editor of the magazine (who has since
joined our committee as she has great knowledge of family audiences in the
area), artist who created the logo, and our extremely talented committee
found a name they liked. We called the young lady, gave her her prizes, and
in August the winner's name will appear in our ad that the magazine created
for us (and as a special gift is giving us in color at no charge.) We've
also asked her to appear at our one-year anniversary during a presentation.
This morning, I read an email (sent to the entire Board) from my Board Chair
that the name is something the entire board should vote on, and that the
Committee needs to make a recommendation. Umm, it seems what is done is
done. My Marketing Chair sent her an email back, and later called her to say
that no one raised any concern at the June Board meeting when we mentioned
the contest, and it concerns him that the Board is micromanaging the
committees. She has asked him to draft an argument to the Board of Trustees
and have them decide if we should give naming responsibilities to the Board.
This minor argument has bloomed into an ugly situation. I am trying to stay
on the outside of it, obviously. While our bylaws state that the committtees
cannot commit the museum to "any program" it seems to me that this is
micromanagement. The problem here lies in the fact that we are still very
new, these are growing pains, and the Board has never really developed
policy regarding the decision making responsibilities of the committees. Am
I blowing this way out of proportion? Do your board committees have some
decision making authority? Please let me know. It seems to me that if the
Board will have to decide on every little "recommendation" the committees
make then not only will they micromanage, but our monthly meetings will
become three-hours long. Any thoughts? Any words of comfort? Am I
overreacting? I feel that this could get us into serious trouble with the
family of the winner, the parent magazine, and my wonderful marketing
committee. Thanks.
Liz
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