Mastering the mix: six ways to balance board work and business.

LET'S FACE IT: VOLUNTEERING AS A MEMBER OF YOUR ASSOCIATION'S BOARD OF directors, or as part of one of its committees or task forces, is a big commitment. The experience is bound to demand plenty of time, energy, and brainpower.

It's rewarding, too-both in terms of the contribution you make to your industry, your profession, or our society as a whole and in terms of the personal reward of bringing a new and needed skill to the group or learning or honing askill of one's own. Why else would some 44 percent of adults (nearly 84 million people) volunteer with an organization, as Independent Sector, headquartered in Washington, D.C., ascertained in 2001 through its biennial survey "Giving and Volunteering in the United States"?

Jim Moody, CAE, devotes about 10 volunteer hours a month as president of a 501(c)(3) community service agency affiliated with his church. He puts it this way: "I enjoy the work because I'm helping people in need, and it gives me an opportunity to see what it's like to be the volunteer," explains Moody, who in his paid position as executive director of the Georgia Society of Association Executives, in Tucker, spends more than a little time working closely with the voluntary leadership. "It's a fairly young organization that's struggling to keep up with the growing needs in these difficult economic times. My knowledge of establishing systems and developing a strategic plan has been useful [to the organization]."

By definition, a volunteer accepts a leadership role of his or her own volition. Busy as we all are, it's easy to see why a considered, and somewhat methodical, approach makes for an effective way of integrating the voluntary work with one's livelihood and personal life. Having learned from experience, Ty Gable, CAE, president of the National Precast Concrete Association, in Indianapolis, says he is a better volunteer now than he was several years ago. Why? "Over the years, I have agreed to serve on various boards and committees without giving proper consideration to the time requirements of doing the job right," says Gable. "I felt strongly about the organization or cause but subsequently found that the time constraints of my more-than-fulltime job proved too overwhelming for my 'volunteer interests. Now I have limited my volunteer activity to what I know I can handle"--about six hours a month serving on a community board and teaching a church class.

ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT sought further advice on balancing the role of voluntary leader with the role that comprises one's livelihood from several experienced volunteer leaders. Here's what they said.

1. Find the facts.

Start at the beginning: Before you make the commitment, become absolutely clear about what will be expected of you, advise volunteers. Ask and answer several questions, these among them:

* How much time is required?

* Is there a position description?

* What is expected beyond regularly scheduled meetings? Is there a calendar of events for the year?

* With whom will I be serving?

* Are board members expected to raise funds, recruit members, pursue sponsorships?

* Do board members represent geographic areas? If so, am I expected to visit chapters or other affiliates and report to them on board business?

Doug Kleine, CAE, who recently completed four years on the board of the Cooperative Development Foundation and six years, including a term as president, with the Conservation and Preservation Charities of America, suggests some homework, too. "Contact outgoing [board] members who you believe did a good job, and ask them about the time commitments, tips, and landmines awaiting," says Kleine, who spends his days as the executive director of the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, Washington, D.C. "Ask them what their biggest surprise was, their biggest accomplishment, and their biggest disappointment." Talk to the chief staff executive, too, adds Gable, to get his or her perspective and expectations for the job at hand.

Sandra Hughes, an executive governance consultant to nonprofit organizations with BoardSource, Washington, D.C., suggests another line of research. "In light of corporate challenges, board members should ask whether the association has directors and officers liability coverage," she says. "What are the risks of being on this board? Are there any legal issues pending--lawsuits of any kind? Those kinds of issues have loomed pretty large recently."

2. Evaluate the impact.

Approach your board or committee term realistically. Once you've gathered the facts about the job, carefully consider the commitment of effort and time, including preparation time for planned and unplanned meetings, advises Gable. Consider, too, that your volunteer responsibilities may create stress in your day job and your personal life, says Kleine, particularly if you are joining the executive committee of an organization or have been offered a high visibility chairmanship. "[If you're married], be sure you have your spouse's consent and support at home and your boss's pledge of backup at the office," he advises. "And if you own your own business, create a revised business plan based on lower revenue and higher costs.

On the flipside, consider the benefits that service has to offer you. After all, voluntary work "has to be fun or we wouldn't continue to show up," says Richard B. Green, chair-elect of the ASAE Foundation Board of Directors and vice president of association sales at Marriott International, Inc. "I believe that the volunteer experience has to be one of interest to you personally, and you have to be challenged and see the opportunity for your own growth by undertaking the assignment," he adds. "It is also a great way to build your own professional network of people, and that is what makes work so much fun."

Tom Dolan, CAE, president and CEO of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Chicago, and past chair of the ASAE Foundation, points to the synergies between ideas shared in the boardroom and those found in the workplace. Dolan, who spends one to two days per month on board responsibilities, keeps folders for each board he serves on, and he is a consummate note taker. As he thinks of ideas for one organization that might work in another, he drops a note in the appropriate folder and follows up at the appropriate time.

Mary E. Power, president of the Convention Industry Council, McLean, Virginia, agrees. "Each board meeting is an opportunity to learn something," says Power, who currently serves on the boards of The Michigan State University Hotel School Alumni and the John Carroll Society. "Sometimes it's how to do a better job running my own board meetings, sometimes it's taking an issue from work that I am dealing with and asking one of the other board members' opinions while on break. Often just by listening to what they are dealing with in their professional spheres and how they are handling issues, I gain great insights into my own professional challenges."

3. Study up.

Once you've accepted a volunteer position, plan to invest the time, thought, and energy it takes to do the job right. A good place to start is with some homework. Take the time to review the bylaws, and read the minutes of the previous year's board meetings to get the flavor of discussion (how substantive is it?), the flow of work, and even attendance patterns, suggests Hughes, of BoardSource. Moody and others advise reading your association's strategic plan. "There's no better way to find out what the association is trying to do," he points out. "And if the staff can't provide a strategic plan--or if it appears that the strategic plan bears no resemblance to the activities of the organization--you know immediately that your role on the board should be to champion the development of an appropriate plan."

In addition to reviewing the strategic plan, financial statements, bylaws, and any other orientation material provided by the staff, you can take your preparation a step further by adopting a few practices suggested by G. A. Taylor Fernley, president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Fernley and Fernley. Review a copy of the most recent needs-analysis survey, says Fernley, who is a past chair of ASAE's Association Management Company Section and who recently completed a five-year chairmanship of the Junior Golf Program at Merion Golf Club. Make some visits to members' operations or conduct telephone interviews to gauge concerns and interests. The legwork could inform board or committee priorities and help focus meeting agendas on strategic issues.

Power says that new board members should "take the initiative prior to their first meeting to learn the board's priorities. If not provided, ask for a copy of the minutes from the last three meetings so that you can bring yourself up to speed on the issues the board is dealing with as you begin. If there are areas that are not clear to you, it will give you time to get clarification prior to the board meeting. Fellow board members will appreciate the fact that you are not planning on using your first board meeting to have them bring you up to speed. Also make it a point to read the most recent issue of the organization's publication, if there is one, to see what major issues the organization as well as the industry is facing."

4. Organize for efficiency.

From the perspective of an association chief staff executive, Moody understands the importance of keeping the stream of appropriate information flowing to volunteer leaders. "Board members want to know what's going on, but they don't want to be inundated with too much information that isn't relevant to board discussions," he says. That said, in your volunteer role, you likely will need to manage lots of information. Kleine suggests three note books or binders: one with basics such as legal documents, budgetary information, policies, the strategic plan, an the board or committee roster; a second with current material; and a third with history, old board packets, minutes, and so forth. Another approach: Tap technology tools at hand. Hughe points out that in many organization board handbooks are on disk or accessible via password-protected electronically message centers for board members. In those groups, "board members can to the message center for the agenda for the next meeting. No board book are sent out." S he says that Board. Source recommends that organization make the board handbook avilable electronically so that board members "have access all the time to bylaws, the latest audit, policies and practices, and so forth."

Green stresses the importance of good filing system. "I keep files fox everything," he says, "and even keep in my backpack a file marked 'reading' so that I can read while I am waiting on someone or for an appointment." Power seconds the notion and suggests a master schedule, too. "Make it a priority to get the organization's schedule for meetings and their system for communicating with the board," advises Power. "If you have an e-mail folder and a binder or file for each board [you serve on], you will not be scrambling at the last minute for important information you need. At the beginning of each year I set out a timesheet so that I can plan the board meetings, conference calls, and so forth, and also note on the calendar when board books and updates should be arriving. This way, f I am going to be out of town, I can make alternate arrangements well in advance. I also block personal deadlines a week or so in advance to have reading and assignments completed. It's a great double check as your calendar fills with many other pressing deadlines."

Fernley's orderly approach to board and committee work includes identifying an association staff gatekeeper, or liaison, to keep him informed of the work group's activities. Before each new meeting, he meets with the staffer for updates, and he is sure always to review action items of the previous meeting. And how does he keep the home office fires burning if he's on travel? Whenever possible, he travels with a laptop, and he has set up systems for routine screening of daily mail, voice mail, and e-mail. And he's always in touch by cell phone.

5. Manage your time and your responsibilities.

"Getting the dates of the board meetings for the next year or years into your calendar is only half the equation," points out Curtis Deane, CAE, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers Foundation, Washington, D.C., and a volunteer leader who has served on the boards of ASAE and the ASAE Foundation among other organizations. "You also need to reserve time in your calendar in advance of the board meetings to review the board meeting materials and to call the association staff to discuss questions you may have. If possible, make an appointment with your staff contact one week before every board meeting, and schedule those appointments now for all future board meetings already in your calendar."

Kleine suggests a systematic approach to the work. Write the association in your appointment book for an hour a week--say, every Thursday from I p.m. to 2 p.m. Use that time to go over mail, make calls, recruit members, ask for money--whatever is expected of you. Dolan suggests building into the routine another weekly stop: Every Tuesday, he visits the Web sites of organizations he is serving as a board member to see what is new since his last visit; he writes the task in his calendar so that he doesn't forget.

Power suggests writing down new responsibilities and due dates as soon as possible after each board meeting. "Do not wait until you get the minutes from the meeting. You will have lost momentum," she says. "I have found that often the time spent returning from a board meeting is some of the best time to begin working on my board assignments. The discussions are still very fresh in my mind and my 'day job' has not come crashing back to absorb my time."

In fact, balancing time for volunteer work and regular responsibilities is largely a matter of organization, priority setting, opportunism, and dogged determination. "My style is like this first things first," adds Jodie Hirsch Slaughter, president of McKinley Marketing, Chevy Chase, Maryland, and a member of the board of ASAE Services, Inc., a for-profit ASAE subsidiary. "Decide what's first and give that priority your attention. It's not very lyrical, but it works."

Fernley is another advocate of priority setting: "I ask myself routinely, does it have to be done? If so, do I have to do it? Can it be done by someone else?" And he takes advantage of every time opportunity. "My volunteer work is largely done at 30,000 feet--when I am traveling," he says. Green concurs: "Read every chance you get."

6. Focus on strategic issues.

The best way to invest your volunteer time is toward thinking strategically about your profession or industry and toward setting policy and direction, agree contributors to this article. Don't waste your time or the organization's getting balled up in operational issues that are the responsibility of association staff. If you're the board or committee chair, advises Fernley, consider aligning agenda topics with an association strategic initiative, devoting as much as 75 percent of each meeting to priority issues only, and leaving past issues in written reports and out of discussions focused on new ideas and financial requests.

Above all, come prepared. Says Gable, "Listen well and engage in constructive debate. Challenge the status quo. Think in terms of ends and not means. Successful volunteer organizations depend on informed, engaged, and committed leaders." Like you.

Keith C. Skillman, CAE, is the editor in chief of ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT. E-mail [e-mail].