Congratulations! Growth is exciting, and stressful. I can share what all I've seen and done, as have you. "Steal" from your CD colleagues.
Using the EdTA recognizable terminology for Board member titles/ positions/jobs is a good "legitimizer" and gives you a starting place. And, every Board member position should have a job, and one that is State Conference/ Chapter governance/programs related. So here are some ideas, and organizational methods and structures I've seen work for Chapters.
The Troupe Sponsor of every student officer elected can/should have a responsibility. Their role is not just to be the Student leader's chauffeur. And they can/should involve the members of their Troupe. They can help execute the Board member's assignments. And take troupe pride in helping to facilitate the State Conference. So in effect, the whole troupe can be elected.
Since each state has individual needs, first decide what those are. As to selecting/electing board members obviously troupe directors should be your starting place and if possible, include some people you invite to sit on your board from outside the organization. Such as business partners, legal experts, university faculty, retired sponsors and some states are lucky to have school administrators who support your programs. They bring a new perspective to a room full of Theatre teachers!
Think about what needs to be done to grow your programming, but start simply. You can retain the title of Chapter Director which aligns with the "job" of CEO. The Chapter Director has financial/ legal responsibilities, and might invite a friendly lawyer to sit on your Board as a volunteer. You don't need a lot of people at the table, but folks who want to grow the Chapter events and student opportunities. You DON'T need sponsors who primarily want the status. Keep the voting members to a minimum, like an executive committee who will meet in closed sessions and help decide goals, solve problems, discuss and approve financial matters and make the hard choices.
The second level of leadership are primarily programming/project chair people, who lead various committees or teams made up of other sponsors. These folks will be "the boots on the ground" to make your state Thespian events run smoothly.
And don't exclude you student leaders. Your state officers will develop their leadership muscles by leading teams of thespians who are the "boots on the ground" to help execute your board's plans.
I'm betting you already have some structure like this, but think about ways to expand what the Chapter Board's responsibilities and development skills should be, and it's surprising how big an impact it can have on your "product". Some Chapters plan state board retreats or camps to build "ensemble". As well as to get nuts and bolts stuff brain-stormed, strategized and done. And don't forget the fun. It takes the place of a paycheck.
And don't hesitate to use the administrative "strength" the CD has. You can/should "fire" Board members who either are not effective or problem makers, "divas", or ambitious. One of a CD's responsibilities is to find and develop other Chapter leadership and build a team to help you survive your job! As Theatre teachers we want everyone to have "fun". As CD, you need partners to help you and your Chapter to be successful in doing the best it can for your student membership.
Oh, and take care of yourself ! Your Board needs you healthy and happy.
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Anita Grant, EdTA Leadership Mentor
Staff Trainer
Children's Museum of Houston
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-09-2013 10:43
From: Jennifer Farrell
Subject: Adult State Board development
Hi all!
Over the past few years, the MN State Board has been growing quite a bit, and we are now at the point where we need to formalize our structure and roles more than they have been in the past.
We know there are many of you out there who have been running incredibly well-structured, effective state boards for years, and in the interest of not re-inventing the wheel, we were hoping you could share your wisdom, experience, and any and all documents pertaining to said wisdom and experience with us. :)
We are looking for anything relating to...
-board structure
-board roles and/or job descriptions
-policies and procedures
-Etc, etc.
Thanks so much! We are so excited about our growth and so excited to learn from all of you!
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Jennifer (Farrell) Dinndorf
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