A Toolkit for AMC and other Leaders

Now this looks like a very useful thing for leaders who are trying to think at high levels and still hope to accomplish something more practical than coming up with yet another "air is good—everyone should breathe it" type of strategic plan.

"All you need is a group and a goal: The CAT isn’t a rigid template for problem solving. It's designed to be flexible and accessible, with an action map and activities arranged into six categories, from building a group, to imagining new ideas, to planning change. The toolkit challenges groups to move beyond discussion to action, continually clarifying their shared goals based on what they learn through the problem-solving process. The result is a holistic approach to help groups tackle issues in their communities."


Download free

Jared's Amendments

I'm lurking on M-Grapevine, watching the discussion of why Jared's bylaws amendment proposals did not get enough signatures to be put on the ballot. The complexity of the system (put in place by the evil AMC so regular members don't stand a chance), the lateness of his start, the lack of publicity about the process, etc. (to be fair, it is Lee, not Jared, making the excuses).

I find it interesting that no one has posited the possible explanation that plenty of people DID know about his proposals and his need for signatures... but simply did not approve of the changes he was proposing. Sure, plenty of Mensans will sign petitions of things they disagree with just because they feel it is important for a wider voter base to consider them. But plenty more, myself included, do NOT place our names as supporters of a proposal... we don't actually support.

In my view, that is the reason for petitions: to see if there is even enough support to bother with the effort and expense of going forward.

I'm sorry for your continued frustration, Jared. I may not agree with you, but I know how hard you worked and how passionately you feel. If only the AMC would work half as hard on their governance improvement projects.

AMC's Amendment re: Replacing RVCs

The AMC has put this on the ballot. It is titled "Replacement of Regional Vice-Chairmen"

Proposed amendment:  a.  In Article III, Section (10)(a), first sentence, insert “, other than Regional Vice-Chairmen,” after “Elective and appointive officers”.  The resulting sentence would then be “Elective and appointive officers, other than Regional Vice-Chairmen, may be removed by resolution of the American Mensa Committee for any of the following reasons:”. b.  In Article III, delete the current language in section (11) and its subsections, and replace them with the following: (11)  In the event of the resignation, removal, advancement, or death of an elective officer other than a Regional Vice-Chairman, or in the event of an office other than Regional Vice-Chairman not being filled by election, the remaining members of the American Mensa Committee shall elect a successor to fill the office for the remainder of the term of office; provided that, in the case of vacancy in the office of Chairman or First Vice-Chairman, the officer(s) next in line shall move up and the successor shall serve in the office of Second Vice-Chairman.

My question is this: Where does it talk about how to replace RVCs? It describes how to replace everyone EXCEPT RVCs. What am I missing?

Group Consensus is Wrong

So I'm working on proofing and MRJ article about spiritual intelligence in leadership styles. And I stumbled upon this gem of an "ahah" observation:

"...the values of group consensus are actually the survivalist values of the individual writ large....therefore, groups are notoriously wrong..." and "progress [is] often made against the will of and inspite of the group."

(Hodgkinson 1983)


Actually, this whole article is making me think about Mensa leadership and who fits in which style of leadership. Fascinating stuff, really.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

RVC Job Description

So I addressed the AMC about governance last week, and led them through coming up with a couple things to work on. I emphasized that they don't need to solve anything yet-- just gather information on the topics of concern (They chose specialized positions such as a Leadership Officer and the continued need or lack of need for past chairs on the AMC). They claimed to have come up with an acceptable RVC replacement proposition.
And so, on that topic, I thought I'd do a bog post about what I believe to be the full job description for an RVC as currently done:

RVC Duties and Responsibilities

(from interviews with current and former RVCs and LocSecs and various governing documents)

According to Article IV (6) “The duties of the Regional Vice-Chairmen shall be to act as liaison between local groups in their respective Regions and the American Mensa Committee, and to carry out in their respective Regions the policies and programs formulated by the American Mensa Committee.”

According to Appendix 4: Principals of Conduct of AMC Officers, RVCs are “the chief operating officers in their respective regions, and they are responsible for serving the needs of the groups in their regions and are responsible for executive supervision of those groups.”

Manage

·    Supervise LocSecs to make sure they're doing what they need to do. Encourage and pressure them to cooperate and participate and follow rules.

·    Help Local Groups meet legal requirements. List and remind the leaders of duties and deadlines.

·    Facilitate material requests.

·    Approve group formation, dissolution, and gatherings.

·    Reassign Local Group boundaries.

·    Appoint acting LocSecs.

·    Facilitate leadership development workshops and efforts.

·    Certify that a candidate in a local election is a bonafide candidate so that he or she may receive membership information for the purpose of campaigning.

·    Appoint regional scholarship chairs, Ombudsman, and others as needed.

Liaison

·    Keep Local Groups informed about national things that matter.

·    Write column so membership hears about what is going on regionally and nationally.

·    Be the connective glue between groups in a region, and between groups and the national board.

·    Know what is happening in the groups... Bring that insight to the board.

Solve Problems

·    Mediate and soothe conflict.

·    Resolve local and more often personal issues when asked.

·    Convene and facilitate regional hearings.

Support Local Efforts

·    Advise local leaders as requested.

·    Act as a cheerleader for groups and local volunteers and leaders.

·    Create parties and socialize with members.

·    Act as a conduit to resources and experts who might know how to do something.

·    Give out regional service awards.

·    Promote participation in national programs such as CultureQuest®, Gifted Children, SIGHT, scholarships, etc.

·    Promote bids for Annual Gatherings (AG), Colloquia, Mind Games®, and other national events within the region.

Represent

·    Make self accessible so people can give opinions— so it seems to locals that someone high up is interested and listening.

·    Carry local concerns up to AMC level.

·    Gather input from locals to help form voting choice.

Act as BoD member

·    Serve on committees.

·    Conduct an election by the region’s LocSecs for National NomCom representatives.

There is no indication that RVCs do or should poll their constituents and vote accordingly—there is no indication that RVCs are direct carriers of a region’s members’ votes. In fact, I recall Alan, when he was RVC3, polling his members regarding the extra night's stay at the WG. He said that although the majority of his members thought the AMC should be compensated for the extra night, Alan himself disagreed and voted against that motion.

Members who are in Region 00, Isolated M, have no RVC, and no AMC member directly assigned to represent their concerns or wishes. 

Good Old Burton Spain

Fascinating article about the namesake of Chicago Area Mensa's Good Old Burton Spain trust fund:

January: Small Portions

January 2012

THE LATE Burton Spain's name came up the other day, not in conjunction with the making of cues — the man's lifetime output was just 42 sticks of his own — but with his immersion in Mensa, the high-IQ society. Burt's devotion to the organization went far beyond mere membership; he was a regional officer whose entire social life revolved there. He had few friends other than his fellow Mensans, or, as they're called, M's. 

Read the rest here

And here are what he made! Read more about the cues.

Case For No REGIONAL representatives

(Shared from a post by Steven Worth of Plexus Consulting via a blog called Social Fish)

Typically organizations spend way too much time, worry and effort parsing how their multiple constituencies will be represented in their various governance and operational bodies. It is a thankless task where the end result usually is a state of tense political gamesmanship and/or stalemate as one group of constituent interests warily faces off against another. Some people enjoy such games—most do not; and those in the middle usually are reduced to exasperated cynicism about the whole process.

Ever since our Eighteenth Century call to arms– No taxation without representation!–we have been trapped in the mindset that no organization can be truly democratic unless all recognizable constituencies have a seat at the governing table. But in this new era of Internet-based communities it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine whose team anyone is on. Do you feel a certain way just because you live in Michigan, or because you work in a certain industry, or perform a certain job or practice a certain profession?–perhaps so, but increasingly not.

Traditional lines that used to be convenient for determining which “side” people are on are blurring. Slowly nations and people and communities are emerging from our ancient tribal states—call it “the pursuit of happiness,” a concept made famous by another famous Eighteenth Century document—thanks in no small part to the freedom the Internet has provided us. In this evolving environment, overarching strategic purpose becomes key—much more so than the traditional identification by geographic location. It is what draws people and companies to membership organizations and it is what motivates them as donors and engaged members.

So what does “representation” mean in this new environment? I suggest that when it comes to board representation the primary criteria are and should be the background and skills set of the people on the board—do they help advance the organization’s strategy and the strategic goals that are part of that strategy? This is the only question that matters, everything else is or should be subordinate to that.

Read more

Confirmation Bias

I do a lot of research and report-creation because supposedly the AMC wants to make decisions based on objective information. Then I fume in frustration when the reports are ignored and change is  avoided. And then I fume some more when members complain that change is needed. Perhaps I'm just bashing my head against a brick wall.

The Misconception: Your opinions are the result of years of rational, objective analysis.

The Truth: Your opinions are the result of years of paying attention to information which confirmed what you believed while ignoring information which challenged your preconceived notions.

Read the whole article here.

Illusion of Asymmetric Insight

Now this speaks volumes about how various factions in Mensa view each other!


"The illusion of asymmetric insight makes it seem as though you know everyone else far better than they know you, and not only that, but you know them better than they know themselves. You believe the same thing about groups of which you are a member. As a whole, your group understands outsiders better than outsiders understand your group, and you understand the group better than its members know the group to which they belong.

"The researchers explained this is how one eventually arrives at the illusion of naive realism, or believing your thoughts and perceptions are true, accurate and correct, therefore if someone sees things differently than you or disagrees with you in some way it is the result of a bias or an influence or a shortcoming. You feel like the other person must have been tainted in some way, otherwise they would see the world the way you do – the right way. The illusion of asymmetrical  insight clouds your ability to see the people you disagree with as nuanced and complex. You tend to see your self and the groups you belong to in shades of gray, but others and their groups as solid and defined primary colors lacking nuance or complexity....


Read more

PRP NOT cancelled after all

Just got the news... second hand, that the decision on PRP has been reversed and revised. I was not informed. I may be a former CO and a current member of ComComm, but apparently... I'm a nobody when it comes to things like this.

Good luck to those who entered and to those who hope to make a go of this... debacle.

PRP 2012 Cancelled

So I'm bemused that the PRP cancellation due to only 5 (out of what, 50,000 something?) members bothering to vote is now causing people to be all up in arms and complaining that they didn't know about it, that it wasn't promoted enough.

I'm no longer on the editors' or webmasters' elists, so I cannot count how many times messages were sent to those lists encouraging editors and web masters to vote. However, I went back through my regular-vanilla-member emails and found that I'd been nudged to vote a total of 7 times:

     AML Today:  March, April, May
     InterLink: February (description of change), April
     AMLNewsflash: April, May 4, May 21

I still didn't bother. It was too much work and I was not inclined to put in the time and effort to look at other groups' efforts if I'm not allowed to crow about the work of my own editor's and webmaster's products. I would imagine other people felt the same. It seems that the editors and webmasters were more interested in winning recognition than in giving it to others.

I had a few wicked moments of considering asking a few friends who are members of other Local Groups to log in and vote for Chicago. I also thought about voting for the most dismal newsletter and site, just to be snarky and disruptive. I didn't do either of those things, of course, but still, when I get helplessly slammed by nut jobs on YouTube or Facebook for work I did on behalf of Mensa, I have my dark passing thoughts, like anyone.

So now the fault for the failure of PRP is being blamed on lack of information and promotion. Bah... there was plenty. Self-proclaimed active, involved members were "caught" being apathetic and are trying to assuage their guilt by blaming whoever they can find to blame.

Marc and I are waiting to see how this will eventually be twisted into being my fault.

LDWs at the AG

I am amused at how, now that I'm not on the AMC, I am continuing to be asked to do things for AML. For the upcoming AG, I've been asked to participate in four LDWS:

Meet the Communications Team
Since I'm the editor of the MRJ

Round Table Discussion on Using Social Media
I was asked to give a talk on this, but since I'm really not an expert myself, I  offered instead to facilitate a sharing discussion.

I was also asked to do a Newsletter workshop and to help Roger with a Name & Logo LDW, but I don't see those on the  AG schedule yet. 

Proposal for Reno Discussion

In response to Elissa's response to my GBTF report this quarter (which in a nut shell said I'm throwing in the towel) I offered to do one last-ditch attempt to get the AMC out of the  rut and back on a forward path by doing some sort of discussion with them at the Reno meeting. This is what I sent to Elissa:


If you wish me to lead a discussion/workshop at Reno, I would recommend the topic(s) be:


A summary of the Governance Task Force Report—What, if anything, does this AMC really want to address? How can you incorporate information-driven decision-making by asking the right questions and finding the objective information to make your policies fit your organization's actual needs? AMC legislators vacillate between being reactive and politically driven by the handful of loud members... or ignoring the emotional, even if irrational, needs of our members. What is the middle course that will ensure our policies are sound AND embraced by the general membership?

Looking at the March 2012 AMC Agenda

Remember that long fully researched report about Local Group funding and needs and uses? The AMC threw up their hands "omg, change bad..." and took no action.


(Side note: I got an email from Rob Salkin recently letting me know he's my AMC liaison and asking if there was anything I'd like him to bring up at the meeting. I replied "What are you my liaison for?" to which he answered "the Local Group Service & Funding Task Force." Ummm, Rob, you guys dissolved that in September.)


But look, now there's a motion, by Rob, of all people, to give groups 1/3 of dues income— DOUBLING the amount groups used to get 8 years ago. No research. No details about why. Oh, and the financial impact says "No impact to the bottom line... but one or more budget areas will likely need to be cut..." to the tune of half a million dollars.  Hmmm... half a million sounds like a wee impact on the bottom line of a budget.

In other news, as everyone knows, I did a ton of work, at the request of the AMC, to solve the issue of RVC replacement—an issue that must, by law, be resolved. I gave it to them in December. I see on the agenda for this meeting... er......nothing.

No mention of it at all.

Wow. Just wow.

New Position

It's formally approved, so I think there is no reason not to use this as a blog post excuse:

I've been appointed by the Foundation as the new Exec Editor of the Mensa Research Journal. It will be an interesting job (paying more than twice what my other Mensa jobs have) and will push me a bit to stretch and learn new things. All good.

While I'm feeling persecuted...

What the heck, I checked in on Yash's doings, and found this:

"Ms. Crawford appears to be a monochrome supremacist, and believes in keeping Mensa "pure" and clean of people of other races."

Anyone remember Tony Lash?

I've been out of office for more than seven months, and STILL I get harassment from creeps.

French & French Manicures

I’m reading an interesting thread on the forums about value of membership, and whether to renew or not. I think it's reasonable to claim that I've had more than my fair share of unkind treatment from members during my years of service. I am a life member, but even so, I can certainly quit, or at the very least, stop attending events, refrain from participating in forum discussions, and refuse to lift a finger. But I'm staying. After thinking about it for a while I came up with two main reasons: commitment and self-definition

.

Commitment

I ended up with a degree in French; I stuck it out for nearly a decade, even though I hated every class I took after the first one in 7th (I had a crush on Monsieur Russell). It started out with such potential and excitement. And for a few subsequent years, I just kept hoping the boredom and frumpy teachers were anomalies and that it would surely get better next year. By the time I realized that Monsieur Russell was the anomaly, I'd already put in so much time that if I'd quit, all the suffering through Mesdames Vieille and  Ennuyeuse would have been for naught. The effort wasted. So I stuck it out and eventually ended up, believe it or not, as a French teacher. Yeah, the universe is a funny place.

Mensa... it's little like that. I've put so much into it, that if I quit now, all my work will be for nothing. Without really doing so consciously, I made a commitment to learning French.

A few years ago, when I became a life member, it was not because I was crazy rich, nor because I figured it'd be a wise investment (we really did run the numbers regarding estimated investment returns on the money versus estimated inflation of dues rates). I became a life member as a commitment to the organization. So just as people stay in rocky and and stressful marriages, screaming when it's really bad and helping to rebuild after a setback, I'm staying.

Self-Definition

The second reason I stay is the same reason I spend stupid money on my fingernails. I don't need them. They make it hard to open things. None of my friends even notice them anymore. My career as a hand model is never going to take off.  But to me, they have become part of my self-identity. I have long hair, glasses, and manicured nails.

I'm a Mensan, as I have been for nearly half my life. It's part of who I am.

Writing for InterLink

I was asked to write something for InterLink. Gee... what should I write about? RVC replacement, perhaps? (Why did I hear Dana Carvy's "Church Lady" voice in my ear when I wrote that?) The trick is to figure out how to condense ten pages of data into a ~500 word article.