I'm glad that Liz received good advice and the situation is resolved,
but I also want to weigh in.
At my former employer, where we had a very mature board/committee
system, the process was that the committees would do the "work" and
bring recommendations to the full board during their allotted committee
reporting time at the next board meeting. The board would trust that
the committees had done the process correctly, might ask a few questions
but would typically ratify whatever decision the committee had made.
The only time when this would cause a problem was if an action came up
between board meetings, which were held every other month. Sometimes
the board's executive committee could ratify the decision in the absence
of the full board, depending upon the magnitude of the action.
Something as vital as a new logo name that has long-term implications to
the organization should probably have been brought before the full board
prior to notifying the winner, but of course that's hindsight. In the
excitement of the contest it is easy to let protocol slide, especially
if there is a time crunch.
Julia Muney Moore
Public Art Administrator
Blackburn Architects, Indianapolis, IN
(317) 875-5500 x230
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Liz N.
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 7:50 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Decision Making Responsibilities of Board Committtees
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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