Youth Leaders (on Boards)

Mon Oct 11 13:15:18 PDT 2010

Lisa - I love your thoughts Long or short. And doubtless those thoughts will
be very contributory to all those concerned with Boards. But if there were
no Boards.if we could get beyond Boards. What then? Ah yes, I know.
Pollyannaish, Impractical, Dreamer. Guilty as charged. But I am not sure it
is all that impractical. Considering the massive investment of time, energy
and money in the business of boards, their elimination could yield some very
positive and practical results - massive amounts of time, energy, and money
available for other good causes. And could you really go Boardless? Well
that is exactly what we have done for the past 25 years. And I would suggest
that our efforts (collectively) have been very practical, pragmatic and
contributory. We also have a lot of fun - which is a strict No/No on every
board I have ever heard of. Having fun on a Board produces a level of
cognitive dissonance I can't quite deal with. 

Do I really think there would be a massive surge to Boardlessness? Hardly -
given the current level of investment (psychological, professional and
monetarily) in Boards. However as long as there are no useful alternatives
there can be no surge at all. Taking a different tack - some folks have
suggested becoming an Open Space Organization. I have a little difficulty
with the concept if only because I think we already are open space
organizations. We just don't know it and/or are doing it badly. But that is
a different issue to be left aside for the moment. Point is - if we had an
Open Space Organization, what would the Board look like? I don't think it
would look like anything. It wouldn't exist. Can you imagine having a Board
for the ongoing Open Space Enterprise? 

Harrison     

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

Phone 301-365-2093

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Lisa Heft
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2010 3:07 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Youth Leaders (on Boards)

Hello dear colleagues -

So here are my 2 cents / pesos / rubles to add, from my experience on - and
serving as facilitator-consultant to - youth and youth-serving
organizational Boards, where young people have been involved at many levels.
I am no expert - this is just what I have experienced and observed.  Just a
few things I wish to share to keep in mind when thinking of including young
people on a Board of Directors

The intention, as I understand it, is to *not* simply place young people on
Boards (and other committees or volunteer or staff positions) in a way that
tokenizes them. 

(For those of you for whom English is not a home language - to tokenize
someone means placing them in a symbolic role because of their
characteristic - often meant as a negative term because the whole person is
not being valued - they are just being used as an image)

And to me, it is important for the strength of an organization to always
seek Board members who have the skills the Board needs - rather than just
great people or public figures or charismatic people.

To me, diversity is crucial - differences in culture and experience enrich
the inquiry, the product, the organization, the group thinking...

But to me it would be tokenizing - and often I see it is unfair to the
individual - to seek and place a young person on a Board (or a panel or a
committee) if they are simply young (or female, or a former client or
whatever) - if they do not also have the skills or resources (financial,
participatory, knowledge) to strengthen the Board.

There are amazing young people who are also incredible at things that Boards
need, if you wish that.

And I have seen young people (and other community members) on Boards placed
there and then not listened to, or given training in vocabulary, policy or
other concepts crucial to their roles, or listened to with less emphasis
than the business people or the adult people. And that is not diversity. It
is not inclusion.  And it wears on the individual and they wonder why the
heck they were chosen, if not for their full selves.

Remember also that most Boards have a fiduciary (fiscal) responsibility - if
something goes wrong with the organization financially, Board members' own
personal finances can be at risk.

Some Boards have Board insurance, some do not.

Also many Boards have a requirement that Board Members donate or raise a
certain amount for fund-raising. Or buy lunch at the place the Board meets. 

Does the young person (or other community member) in mind have the financial
ability to do these things?

I have seen it play out as a class issue - a cultural assumption on the part
of very well-meaning, very nice fellow Board members.  Someone's financial
level, or how much they understand a Board's existing vocabulary, or
assumptions about understanding of budgeting concepts - have in my
observation often put the young person (or other community member) at the
disadvantage for engaging equally in the conversations, decisions and other
work of the Board.

Consider also the value of Advisory Boards - consisting totally of an
organization's client or community members. A very valuable thing. So if the
client or youth voice is important in the work of the organization (and I
hope it is) there are many different possibilities for inclusion.

And consider also that when we say 'young person' we may be in our heads
thinking of different ages - 12? 19? 26? 30? - so the inclusion of 'young
people' on Boards may be very different depending on our definition for that
organization's specific purposes and interests.

So all I am saying is - if you feel you can truly support the young people
you wish to have join your Board (so they can be equal, not a 'mascot' to
the Board, not exhausted by trying to keep up with the others who speak and
afford things at a totally different level), and if you can truly truly
select a young person who has knowledge, skills and abilities that your
Board needs, if you can always be learning about what that diverse
individual may need in order to truly be an equal player, then - if it fits
their personality and their own learning / professional / growth goals -
being on a Board may enrich both the young person and the work of the
organization. Sure, Board meetings can be exceedingly boring for most folks.
But for some folks it is like participating in student government - they
love it.

I have seen Boards who thoughtfully include the unique and skilled
individual young person - and provide them with ongoing support to equalize
class and financial differences - benefit from working with their younger
partners. I have also seen really well-intentioned inclusion of young people
waste the time and good nature of the young person. 

That's more than 2 cents ... thanks for your patience in reading my longish
thoughts...

Lisa

Lisa Heft

Consultant, Facilitator, Educator

Opening Space

lisaheft at openingspace.net

Ask me about the Open Space Learning Workshops - December 15-17, 2010 - San
Francisco and in 2011 -- and the Power of Pre-Work in 2011

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