A
Director's Chair:
Board Not Bored
by Dennis
Phayre
How would
you feel if someone asked you to become a Co-op Board member? Would it
frighten
you because you don’t have any idea what a Board does? Would it excite
you,
because you like the idea of being “in control” of a large
organization? Would
it scare you to think that maybe you don’t have what it takes to be a
“good”
Board member? Would you cringe at the idea of spending long hours, late
at
night locked in stuffy room and bored out of your wits?
I bet it
would be really funny to read a list of answers from Co-op member’s
responding to
“Why I wouldn’t want to be a Co-op Board member!” I’m sure we’d get
lots of reasons
that would never even occur to me. The only reason I can think of the
ones I listed
above is because, at one point or another, they all personally occurred
to me. Before
becoming a Board member I thought, what did I know about serving on a
board? I
had never done it before. I had experience running a small business but
not something
this large and this complex. What if my “small” business experience
wasn’t big
enough? What if I wasn’t “big enough?” What if I wasn’t wise enough to
undertake
such a responsible role?
Well the
truth is I’m not, not alone anyway. That’s why there are nine of us. It
is a collective
responsibility shared by nine people (plus an equally responsible
Collective Management
Team and staff) who choose to participate in an extraordinary
adventure. It
brings out the extraordinary within each one of us; we challenge
ourselves to
grow by taking on the demanding challenges of an evolving mission-bound
community.
It is through this collective effort that we ensure a wiser outcome and
a greater
degree of success than any one individual could provide.
So what’s
stopping you from serving on the Board? Let me share with you a few of
the
reasons why I think it’s worth my time serving on the Board and maybe
some of you
will consider running as a candidate for the Board this coming April.
First of
all, once you get started on the Board it quickly becomes apparent what
a privilege
and an honor it is to actually serve as a Director. You get a unique
vantage point
from which to truly appreciate the magnificence of this Co-op. You
begin to see
on a deeper level what an enormous effort it took to get to where we
are today and
how your efforts are vitally important to preserving and enhancing the
foundations laid down by those who came before us. The legacy of those
earlier
efforts lives on not just in the products we see on the shelves
(consumables),
but, more importantly, in the encoded values that are contained in the
bricks,
policies and bylaws which provide a base from which to operate and a
guide to
our further efforts year after year, decade after decade. While serving
as a
Board member, you take on a greater degree responsibility to uphold and
advance
these values and your work helps to ensure that the privileges afforded
by
these values continue to be available. It is a privilege for us to have
access
to such a great institution right here within our community and it is
truly an
honor to serve as one of its Directors.
Second,
you’re doing “good work”; it is good for you, it is good for the
community and
it is good for sustaining life on this planet. In this day and age of
rapidly
evolving technology, much of the world seems lost in a confusing
struggle over
the need to survive and the desire to thrive. The Co-op is a living,
breathing
model of how these two values can co-exist together. We’re not perfect
in our
application but we keep striving for continual improvement. It is
meaningful work
that you can truly be proud of and it brings with it a great feeling; a
sense of
satisfaction that comes from knowing that you are actively and
consciously
contributing to building a better future. Don’t miss the opportunity to
share
in this experience.
Even if
these ideals seem distant from where you are at right now, just
remember that
the act of participating in the discussion and sharing in the
decision-making process
challenges you to grow. By actively listening to the opinions of others
and
reevaluating your own ideas along side them, you continue to evolve as
an
individual. Personal growth is one of the most important reasons to
serve.
Whether it’s ideological growth you’re after or a greater complexity of
business management skills, you ultimately receive more back than you
give.
There is a
26 percent discount that comes with the hours worked (which is great!),
but that’s
a temporary reward, just like the consumables. The greatest rewards
stay with
you and continue serving you for the rest of your life. They manifest
through
your co-creative efforts and stay within the community to keep
providing for
you, your family and for those to come.
Contribute
as much as you can to making the world a better place; the rewards are
great
and you’ll never get bored. Join the Board and make your efforts count.
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