It's actually a bit of a standing joke: the icon for this post comes from a conversation we had after some comments in an article about open-source projects where some men complained about women wanting there to be a 'mushy' culture.
Ahahahaha! Why am I rolling on the floor laughing? Because I come to your post having just read this:
The more I've been reading regarding o upcoming elections, the more I think that there is one thing that OTW members should require of their board: that no board member is a committee chair or key member of a project team. You should have to resign chairships if you're elected. You should have to hand over your key role if you're elected. This is why the great majority of organisations don't have employees on their boards. I would not even exempt the treasurer, but it would be appropriate for the treasurer to be fincom's liaison.
I think OTW is big enough for this and has enough great mentoring and support practice internally to maintain good succession planning.
Board members need to be free to give timely responses and approvals to the committees and projects. They can't do this if their volunteer time is committed to their own projects. This is part of what lead to my resignation from a committee: we had a long lead deadlines that we were always ready for but board members never had time to check our work until the last minute. They always changed things (that wasn't so much the problem) leaving us scrambling to get things live (that was the problem). It wasn't fair on anyone involved, not least our poor chair who had to carry out the board's direction while managing a grumpy committee.
no subject
Ahahahaha! Why am I rolling on the floor laughing? Because I come to your post having just read this:
Yet earlier this year, when Google interviewed its employees about what they valued most at work, none of these extravagant benefits made the top of the list. Neither did salary. Instead, employees cited access to “even-keeled bosses who made time for one-on-one meetings, who helped people puzzle through problems by asking questions, not dictating answers, and who took an interest in employees’ lives and careers.” So much for not wanting the mushy stuff. Or do I have it wrong? Are the great majority of Google employees female?
The more I've been reading regarding o upcoming elections, the more I think that there is one thing that OTW members should require of their board: that no board member is a committee chair or key member of a project team. You should have to resign chairships if you're elected. You should have to hand over your key role if you're elected. This is why the great majority of organisations don't have employees on their boards. I would not even exempt the treasurer, but it would be appropriate for the treasurer to be fincom's liaison.
I think OTW is big enough for this and has enough great mentoring and support practice internally to maintain good succession planning.
Board members need to be free to give timely responses and approvals to the committees and projects. They can't do this if their volunteer time is committed to their own projects. This is part of what lead to my resignation from a committee: we had a long lead deadlines that we were always ready for but board members never had time to check our work until the last minute. They always changed things (that wasn't so much the problem) leaving us scrambling to get things live (that was the problem). It wasn't fair on anyone involved, not least our poor chair who had to carry out the board's direction while managing a grumpy committee.