No Introductions Were Needed…
Posted on September 9th, 2008 by Cynthia D'Amour
Who was that guy?
At tonight’s meeting, the first speaker was introduced as “needing no introduction.”
That would be great - if everyone knew who he was.
- No one at my table had seen him before.
- His name on the agenda gave us little clue.
A few people across the room nodded their heads - as if they knew him.
- Did I sit with the outsiders?
- The uncool ones?
- (Not talking about me, of course)
A major issue?
- Not really.
- Just a little surprise.
- Others didn’t know the speaker either, right?
It was a chink in the armour of trust - a ripple on the pond of happy memberness.
- Not a big deal as a stand alone.
- Potential to gain force if it happens again.
Makes me think of chapter leaders…how do you avoid making your members feel like outsiders at your meetings?
Filed under: Board challenges, Getting More Members Involved
The association should dump the clique stuff. Board members should mingle and talk to people. Find a board member to be the social director and get everybody else to act correctly.
Hi David!
Great advice as usual. The challenge - I’m not sure the board members realized they were doing anything wrong - nor necessarily knew how to act correctly.
If it’s how they’ve always done things, why would they know now was the time to change?