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o ar d s Board Development Crucial to Success M\ ktsi article on arts boards (see the May/ June issue) ottered a sicp-b) -step approach to recruiting new board members. One of my closing recommendations was thai a board development workshop be held within three months of the new appointments. What follows is an explanation ol what such sessions should consist of and why they are important. Board development workshops are also referred to as board orientation sessions, and the word 'orientation' gives some clues as to why this event is so critical. Orientation is the process of 'orienting'or 'orientating.' In terms of an arts board, this means 'to set members off in the right direction." Even if they have served on other arts boards, there are many new things for them to learn, including the specific, current needs of the organization. It is much more efficient lo start by spelling such things out than to assume that everyone shares an understanding of the direction and work lo be done and then have to re-orient partway through the year. Orientation involves a scries of activities. The total process takes place over lime and includes meeting people, sitting in on some of the organization's programs, attending openings, reviewing the material received at the outset and the subsequent material includes atiL-iulmij K»,uJ 1 1 stings. Do you recall your first board meeting? Do the phrases -overwhelming' and 'mass confusion' spring to mind? So why add a workshop on top of all of this ' There are a variety of reasons: 1 * individual expectations of the board; board expectations of individuals; · the public trusi--what does this phrase * organizational mandate and policies-- Do the programs continue toreflectthe mandate? Do policies exist? Have they been re-examined lately? ' organizational program plans for the next period of time and how these are developed; * who speaks for the organization, and under what circumstances; * division ofresponsibilitiesbetween board and staff; division of responsibilities regarding hiring and aggrieved staff; · the significance and nature of board responsibility for fundraising and membership development; and * how decisions are made. An understanding of how decisions are made and might be made is the most important immediate outcome of these workshops. How to run a meeting well (and understanding what this means) and how to attend a meeting responsibly are skills that are in scant supply on many arts boards. Appropriate agendas, time to consider in advance complex issues, prepared board members, efficient use of board committees,regularacknowledgement of work done, and assuming only thoseresponsibilitiesthat are the board's development workshops. With these mechanisms understood and in place, an organization will know how to ensure that there is a collective vision and a policy to guide it through the difficult decisions that regularly arise as a part of an arts organization's life. Brenda Berck is the Cultural Development Officer of the North Store Arts Commission. She has acted as facilitator for board development workshops for the past 12 T O T E M POLE PROJECT M A R K Q E O R Q E , C A R V E R OF THE N O R T H V A N C O U V E R BURRARD INDIAN BAND, HAS BEEN C O M M I S S I O N E D B Y LONSDALE QUAY MARKET T O C R E A T E A 30' T O T E M POLE F R O M A R A W C E D A R L O Q AT T H E M A R K E T SEASIDE P L A Z A F R O M J U L Y 1 T O SEPTEMBER 5, 1993. E A C H I M A Q E C H O S E N BY | M A R K H A S MYSTICAL AND SPIRITUAL M E A N I N G . " T H E S U N IS T H E SOURCE OF POWER F R O M W H I C H ALL T H I N G S M U S T D R A W ENERGY. SHE SHINES O N M O T H E R E A R T H W H O I N T U R N BLOOMS TO GIVE US FOOD A N D SHELTER. T H E E A C J L E IS A M U C H L O V E D BROTHER A N D G U A R D I A N O F O U R PEOPLE: A r THE FUNERALS OF OUR RELATIONS THE EAGLF A P P E A R S T O QUIDE T H E SPIRIT T O T H E O T H E R SIDE. W H E N A C H I E F O R A N ELDER DIES A M A T U R E E A G L E W I L L SIT CLOSE B Y O R IF A Y O U N G PFRSON H A S DIED T H E N A Y O U N G E A Q L E W I L L CIRCLE OVERHEAD. OUR ONCE R E M O T E INLET W A S A L W A Y S VISITED BY T H E K I L L E R W H A L E OR BLACKFISH. W H E N O U R LATE CHIEF W A U K - S A U K W A S CARRIED F R O M THE B E L C A R R A V 1 L L A Q E T O HIS RESTING P L A C E O N T H E N O R T H S H O R E B Y C A N O E , THE B L A C K F I S H S W A M A T ITS SIDE A S A N ESCORT. T H E G R E E T I N G P E R S O N IS S Y M B O L I C OF OUR A N C E S T O R S W H O GREETED S O M E O F T H E FIRST EXPLORERS O F T H E W E S T C O A S T : SPANISH. E N G L I S H , RUSSIANS A N D O T H E R S WERE GREETED WITH OPEN ARMS. T H E BEAR R O A M E D T H R O U G H THE L A N D S W I T H O U R ANCESTORS A N D FISHED F O R S A L M O N T H A T S U S T A I N E D THEIR LIVES." o Do the phrases 'overwhelming' and 'mass confusion' spring to mind when y o u think of your v e r y first b o a r d meeting? 1 O · Workshops arc fun! We want board members to work, but we also want them to enjoy their roles on the board. Boards work better when people have fun together at least once in a while. And, they allow individuals who have never met to get lo know each other. · They allow for a safe environment in which to acknowledge questions and confusion, to discover lhat these are frequently shared by others, and to have misunderstandings cleared up. The result is that confusion is reduced and the tasks feel more manageable. · Workshops are done as a group. At the end of the time together, board members leave with a high degree of satisfaction and a sense of themselves as a part of the whole organization. Such sessions also offer information about fellow board members, which, among olhcr things, is extremely useful for future decision-making. Above all. they ensure that board members have a common understanding of their role. · Since they are not dominated by problems, or constrained by an over-full agenda and lateness of the hour, workshops can produce solutions and new approaches, resulting in feelings of satisfaction and · Kinici|unis have vision or set of objectives thai they helped ·M A R K K I ' C A R V I N Q HOURS: Saturdays and Sundays. 10am to 4pm Weekdays, hours posted on site. Phone 985-6261 for more information. 4 Ani Acce» Juiy/Auguii 1993