GET ON BOARD

Board Members Behaving Badly

Dr. Ted Flickinger
IAPD President and Chief
Executive Officer

A few years back, one of the cable networks debuted a "Candid Camera" knock off that featured one or more of the program's four commedianes behaving badly by pulling pranks on unsuspecting members of the public. The object of each bit was to disrupt the norm to elicit less than flattering reactions from the victims of the pranks. Take the mail order bride gag, for example, in which of the show's cast members would pop out of a box just as an unsuspecting UPS driver was delivering the oddly marked international package to a doorstep. Whether that's funny is debatable. But at least it's harmless.

Truly harmful are board members who behave badly. Usually, misbehaving board members either don't understand their roles, or haven't learned proper comportment or have axes to grind. Unfortunately, their disruptive behavior wastes the public's time and money and hampers their agency's ability to fulfill its mission: Not funny.

Let's take a look at some bad behaviors and see how they can be overcome.

The Rude, Offensive Board Member
Temper tantrums, off-color remarks and threats to fellow board members have no place in board service, no matter how politically charged a situation might be. These sorts of outbursts hinder board teamwork, damage the board's public image and make the board dysfunctional. Here are two real-world situations that crippled each board's public integrity:

1. One agency director invited a staff member to a board meeting to discuss the merits of a new program that was under consideration. One of the board members had already made up his mind against the idea. He fired question after question at the employee in a demeaning manner. She left the meeting in tears.

2. One board was stonewalled for six months after one member publicly insulted another. The offended board member refused an apology and made a motion to censor the rude colleague. For six months all the board discussed was this breach of decorum.

The best long-lasting remedy for dealing with improper behavior is to develop and honor an ethical code of conduct (see page 7 of the July/August 2005 issue of this magazine). As part of its periodic self-evaluation process, the board should review its ethical code of conduct to determine how well it is adhering to the code. These checkups will remind members of appropriate board behavior that is expected of them.

You or your fellow board members may, at first, consider developing and refining an ethical code of conduct as a "make work," time consuming exercise. But, when you consider the benefit to your agency's credibility, it's not. When your behavior is chaotic, the community's perception is that the board itself is chaotic. You must understand that board behavior gets noticed, especially by the news media.

Long-Winded Board Members
Long-winded people take a lot of time and keep other participants from speaking, especially the naturally quiet ones.

In this situation, a board president or committee chair should step in with a polite interruption by saying, "Our time is running short. Can you please wrap this up?" If the rambler does not comply, then stop him short with a direct statement: "Thank you very much John. We need to move on. Mary, you're next." And just move ahead.

If, after repeatedly trying to tone down the non-stop talker you still feel he or she is dominating the meeting, then take the offender aside and explain that you cannot allow anyone to monopolize the meeting. Let the board member know that you have to run the meeting, and, while you don't want to appear rude, you have to stop him or her from speaking.

For people who have a tendency not to speak up, consider a few things. If there are too many people in the room, some people won't speak up and may be fearful of being criticized by others. Create a positive atmosphere. One of the rules of board behavior should be that there

Board behavior gets noticed, especially by the news media.

are no put-downs. When you start a creative process, you can't stop someone's thinking by saying "No, that won't work" or

6 Illinois Parks & Recreation www.ILipra.org

"We tried that before." You must convey that no ideas are bad, even though some may need to be considered at a later time, or some may, upon examination, turn out to be unfeasible. Then, you take the best idea and elaborate on it, because sometimes what starts out as a wacky notion can, with amendments and minor adjustments, evolve into a great idea.

Very Serious Disruptions
How do you, as a board president or committee chair, step in when someone is really sabotaging the meeting and is very disruptive?

First, set the tone for the meeting by declaring, "We don't expect all of us to agree on everything, but we want to hear a lot of viewpoints. We want to know what's on your mind, and don't criticize one another's ideas. Let's get all our ideas on the table."

If a member still constantly and harshly disrupts fellow board members, try to make the offender aware of his or her behavior. Attempt to change the climate of the room by gently prompting other participants to speak up.

If - and only if - all other attempts continuously fail, ask the disruptive participant to step out of the room. You don't enjoy taking that kind of step - I know of a case where a school board president had to call the police to have a board member removed - but you have to consider everybody. So the troublemaker has to go. I think that once that person is removed, you will find that participation skyrockets.

The Micromanagers
With somewhat alarming regularity I've felt compelled to write about the dangers of micromanagement (see pages 6-7 of the January/February 2006 or page 7 of the November/December 2006 issues, for example). Still, many board members claim not to recognize (or else seek to rationalize) this bad behavior. Board members who say they don't realize that they are micromanagers are usually not telling the truth. Most of the time, micromanagers have an agenda. Usually, they:

• Don't like someone in the agency (most often the executive)

• Don't trust the leadership

• Want a different program or service offered by the agency

• Can't get around their ego, choosing to be guided by an attitude that says, "That's not the way I would do it if I were the executive."

If you recognize a micromanager or two on your board, then I suggest that you hold a meeting with the executive and the micromanaging board member(s). Emphasize the difference between big picture policies and day-to-day operations.

You may also want to address the motivation for the micromanagement. Find out what the board member wants from board service. Whatever it is, do it, as long as it is morally sound, legal and won't disrupt the staff or is not harmful to the agency's operations. Once the board member feels satisfied that his or her motivating issue is being addressed, refocus the board's attention to the mission, vision and strategic plan. A board that has its eyes on these larger and much more far reaching governance issues has little time for micromanaging.

Another way to thwart micromanagement is to pay close attention to board meeting agendas. If the executive or president starts putting items on the agenda that are management tasks, then they are asking for the board to become involved in management decisions. The board may receive a report on a management issue, but for information only. When presenting any management report, make sure that the board is clear that the report is for the members' information and that they should provide input on a management report only when requested to do so.

Constant Learning and Improving Keeps Bad Behavior at Bay
The best method for preventing micro-management and many other bad behaviors is board self-discipline. Experienced and knowledgeable board members must provide leadership and guidance to board members who stray. This only works if a majority of the board members understand their roles as policymakers.

That's why both rookie and seasoned board members benefit from board retreats, self-evaluations and continuing education. One of the most concentrated board education seminars I know of is the IAPD Boot Camp. This succinct training seminar offers participants the basis for building a thorough understanding of their duties as board members, and it introduces them to the proper rules and procedures for conducting their business in an efficient, professional and responsible manner. Participants will hear experts share their wisdom on such topics as effective boardmanship, legislative advocacy, parliamentary procedure and the legal responsibilities of local government officials.

IAPD is offering two boot camps this summer. The first is Tuesday, June 19 at the Oak Brook Park District from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. The second boot camp is Thursday, June 28 at the Normal Parks and Recreation Department from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. You may register or find out more information at our Web site at www.ILparks.org or call IAPD Educational Services Director Sue Triphahn at 847-496-4449.

I urge you and your fellow board members to come to boot camp and learn to combat bad behavior.