Keeping Pace with the Candidates

Several of the 15 elected AMC positions will be contested this year. In order to give GF readers a more in-depth look at the candidates than a campaign statement usually permits, we are asking each candidate in a contested race to answer a personalized rather than generic question. The question may be about the candidate's vision, plans for implementation, philosophy, or something entirely different — but always something that allows us to get to know a candidate more intimately. Answers are not edited, but published as received. Only type font or size may differ from the original. We begin this feature in this issue with the only nationally elected race that is contested: Second Vice Chairman.

Candidates' responses will be printed in alphabetical order of surnames.

Question from GF: AMC has created many processes and procedures designed to protect the membership. Nowhere is this more vital than in the area of hearings on charges of acts inimical to Mensa. Considering the protective nature of these procedures, can there ever be a situation when such procedures can be ignored, wholly or in part? If so, what sort of guidelines would determine when protective procedures can be bypassed?

Answer:

I have not encountered such a situation, nor do I expect to.

Protections for individual members exist in the international Constitution of Mensa, the Bylaws of American Mensa, and the Actions Still In Effect (ASIEs) of American Mensa. All members of Mensa worldwide, including both individuals and national governing bodies such as the American Mensa Committee (AMC), are bound by the requirements of the Constitution of Mensa. All members of American Mensa, including both individuals and the AMC, are bound by the requirements of the Bylaws and the ASIEs of American Mensa. The ASIEs are a bit more complicated a subject in this regard than either the Constitution or the Bylaws, as the AMC is the body that creates, modifies, and deletes ASIEs; however, the AMC is bound by every then-current ASIE until modified or deleted. If the AMC does change an ASIE regarding hearings, it is always careful to put in the ASIE that the change is only prospective and not for any hearings that may be in progress at the time of the change. In short, procedural safeguards are to be followed unless and until changed.

(For more about Mensa's structure and governing documents, please see the September 2002 issue of Going Forward, which contains an article I wrote on the topic.)

— Dan Burg
 

Question from GF: The Leadership Development Workshop concept has been a proven, valuable resource for Mensa. Its importance is underscored by AMC creating an appointed office to oversee the LDW process. Is there ever a way that an elected AMC officer or officers can step into the working of this process without either stifling the creativity of the members of the host group or being seen as interfering with the duties and responsibilities of the officer they themselves have appointed?

Answer:

First some brief background on LDWs. Leadership Development Workshops (LDWs) were created to replace Local Officer Training Sessions (LOTS). LOTS was reaching local group officers and giving them important information, but not reaching prospective officers. The AMC saw a need to train and motivate potential leaders. The LOTS training varied according to the sponsoring local group and the presenters. We wanted a standardized training plan and a regulated means of providing the training. So now we have funding, lesson outlines (which, if followed, could be used by any knowledgeable person to present the program) and an approval process.

Now to answer the question, although the answer isn't easy. The AMC, as the elected leadership body of American Mensa, has developed and owns the LDW program. They certainly have the responsibility to oversee the program. Although the appointed coordinator has much leeway to make decisions, the AMC must provide guidance and even occasionally clarify policies. Is this interfering? Perhaps, but justifiably so, as the members have a right to hold someone accountable for all programs. The AMC are the only nationally elected officers, and therefore responsible. With the responsibility, comes the authority to direct. We have had several instances of appointed officers going off on a tangent and "building empires" with the members' resources by ignoring the charge given them by the AMC; mostly with potentially disastrous results.

As to stifling the creativity of the members of the host group, the AMC created a program that needs little interpretation. Where creativity may have a place in training, we want this to be a standard program. Any group can have any kind of program they want. But, if they choose to alter the guidelines, they will not have an LDW. They will have their own show. I don't object to that, but it necessarily serves a different purpose.

There are innovations and different approaches to LDW sessions being tried under the guidance of the AMC. Suggestions are always welcome; send them to the LDW Coordinator or AMC Liaison. As we work to refine the written matter we provide and the guidelines for the coordinators and hosts, meeting the AMC's goals for LDWs will come more easily.

— Ike Kullman

Question from GF: As the Local Secretary of a small group, you have had to create a working relationship with the staff at the National Office. Drawing on this relationship, what do you see as the role of the National Office five or ten years down the road? What would you do as an elected AMC member to facilitate this?

Answer:

As a new Local Secretary of a new local group, I remember reading the LocSec handbook and thinking, "You can't put all of the things I need to know in these few pages!" I laughed and wondered if there was a "handbook" for the President of the United States.

In the following months, I spent a lot of time on the telephone with various folks from the National Office asking questions, asking directions, generally making a pest of myself. A trust was built slowly over time with many of the associates.

I see the role of the National Office as a support team, an administrative arm, advisory group, communication facilitators, and an arm to help carry out the strategic goals of Mensa. The National Office and the accompanying strategic goals should provide stability between different AMCs. We need consistent direction despite changes in leadership. How do we provide the consistent direction?

Most things begin with a vision. In an organization, you think, "How can I plan a department's goals if the company as a whole has no goals? How can you have company goals if the company has no vision?" In studying other non-profit organizations, I have found that many times they have blamed the burnout of volunteers and leaders on the absence of a strategic plan. And Mensa has its share of burnout volunteers.

How can you even put together job descriptions for the folks in the National Office without a vision and a strategic plan? Do our National Office associates spend an inordinate amount of time searching for the Holy Grail because of lack of direction? Is their time being spent to meet mission objectives that contribute to our vision? How can it if we have no vision or strategic goals? How does one define their roles without long-term planning?

I have found that the folks in the National Office do a good job in dealing with the membership. But we can help them and our society by planning for the next level of Mensa. How do we get to the next level?

Our mission (purpose) statement is a critical starting point. Our mission significantly constrains or enhances our society and the challenges and opportunities that arise. Vision is what we want to be when we grow up. Strategic goals help us get there and as we continue to maturate, we should periodically review those goals. You might ask, "Why do we need long term-planning?"

The purpose of strategic planning is to help our society improve our prospect for success and continuation by enabling us to better target the applications of our scarce resources: time, effort, and money. The process that we go through in developing our strategic plan is as important as the resultant plan. How can we accomplish more with the resources that we have? That is our job through thorough planning.

What can I do as an AMC member to facilitate the roles of the National Office mentioned above? Push for strategic planning. Devote my time, energy, and enthusiasm to making sure that this happens. Stress also that just because there are quantitative goals there will also be a certain amount of ambiguity and as long as we do the right thing as a society, then we can become comfortable with this ambiguity.

For example, ambiguity in setting goals for growth in membership is common. I believe that growth in Mensa should not be a goal; rather, it should be the result of achieving our other goals. But if we set growth as a primary goal, we may lose the focus of maintaining and strengthening the health of our organization — which should be at the forefront of our strategic planning. We should explore new methods of communication between members and the National Office can help facilitate this. Measure our progress to reduce the ambiguity. What gets measured gets done.

The folks at the National Office serve us. We should serve them and ourselves better by identifying both their future and ours.

— Don Taylor