What I Really Did June-August 2022

Official quarterly reports never fully show what I do.

Note that this "quarter" was short- comprising only 10 weeks instead of the 12 or more of other "quarters."

Communications Officer

• Gave heads-up to Marketing and Membership Officers to think about National Advertising policy.
• Nudged CB about looking at the draft of the LG Comm Guide, since I’m stuck until staff goes over it.
• Worked website portion of the LG Comm Guide.
• Read all online July LG newsletters.
• Read all online August LG newsletters.
• Read all online September newsletters
• Gathered screenshots of incorrect boilerplates and indicia and prepared some AMC education.
• Reviewed August Bulletin.
• Reviewed September Bulletin.
• Requested update of AML website to reflect current version of Appendix 23.
• Long zoom meeting with Marketing Officer to talk about websites & social media.
• Wrote 3 volunteerism columns for Bulletin.
• Began deep dive review of LG websites.
• Introduced crowd-sourcing for LG Comm Guide to Digital Officers.
• Discussed website  section of LG Comm Guide with Tabby and Lana.
• Reviewed and asked questions re Consolidated Financial Statements.
• Nudged CB for the third time in two weeks to respond to my emails.
• Zoom with Lana re MC and web training topics.
• Mucked around with WordPress to figure out how to get started using Lana’s template.
• Gave up and began writing a section describing the status quo re LG sites.
• Discussed with a concerned member some amendments to a motion on the upcoming AMC agenda.
• Crowd-sourced beginning steps for creating a website.
• Forwarded phishing email to CB with a suggestion that a warning about it be included in the next Mensa Leader. Suggestion was not acknowledged.
• Asked Tabby & Lana for any info they might have collected assessing the skill levels of LG Webmasters.
• Long catch-up call with CB. Stressed that LG communications and I are being neglected and that we need to improve this.
• More work on web section of LG Comm Guide.
• Asked staff (again) to fix CommComm MP ad so it doesn’t imply all positions are full. Eventually figured it out myself.
• Began work on AML Branding section of LG Comm Guide.
• Attended AMC meeting and ABM at the AG.
• Gave two formal LDW presentations and led two other casual M&G sessions.
• Responded to member’s concern regarding moderation on MC.
• Discussed again with CB about making LG Communications more of a priority this next year.
• Nudged again for more useful topics in Mensa Leader and Wired.
• Reviewed report from Hearings Comm.
• Discussed with Bylaws Chair some issues with the amended MDA.
• Removed a thread in MC at the request of the RR chair.
• Drafted motion to fix the amended MDA.
• Discussed covid survey issue with Timmy and Trevor.
• Posted a covid exposure message to MWM community for a member having tech issues.
• Reviewed June Staff report and responded with questions and comments.
• Reviewed ExComm’s goals for Trevor and sent comments to Timmy. Did not receive acknowledgement.
• Long reply on a M-Leaders MC thread about newsletters.
• Bought plane tickets for Sept AMC meeting.
• Prepped and turned in expense reimbursement forms.
• Returned to reviewing and crafting Nat Pubs and Advertising policy updates.
• Informed staff that a link on the AML website was broken.
• Wrote long email to Trevor re why National Pubs and Advertising policy needs updating. Discussed that a better approach might be to start from scratch.
• Wrote thoughts on potential strategic goals for AMC planning session in Sept.
  
• Continued back and forth with member unhappy with MC moderation. Hit my patience limit; told him his options and that I’m a dead end for what he wants.
• Apprised the new Ombudsperson of the brewing situation re MC and the member unhappy with moderation policies.
• Requested help from staff to fix borked edit functions in Mensa Connect.
• Discussed with Membership Officer how to promote SIGs to members needing engagement opportunities and sent request to Hilary to create an ad for LG newsletters to use.
• Zoom with Membership Officer re shared goals, staff issues, and solutions.
• Requested meeting with Trevor, Mem Officer, Marketing officer at the Sept meeting.
• Added a topic to the AMC planning session of how to keep track of old research and reports that could be useful solving current problems.
• Asked Eric Werme questions about LG periodicals. Spent hours reading and writing educational explanations of the pros and cons of all endorsement options.
• Prepared and sent Summer Letter to Pubs Officers.
• Long call with CB re periodicals requirements for LGs, LG Comm Guide progress, Mensa Leader and Wired content , software, and nudged National Pubs and Ad policy, and using the AML website event calendar for virtual events hosted by LGs.
• Advised RVC1 about MC moderation challenges.
• Responded to a YM who wants to get involved.
• Nudged EWNI editor to the Pubs Officers library.
  
• Discussed formatting issues of Ombud’s column with Bulletin Editor.
• Discussed possible motion to expand and clarify (but not change at the core) ASIE regarding LG’s use of NO address and USPS Return Address Service.
• Discussed mutual projects and aid with Membership Officer.
• Helped a member find his LG newsletter on the website.
• Participated in AMC discussions on Mensa Connect.
• Pointed out  to IT staff that Pandemic RG is shown 3 times on the front page of the AML site.
• Discussed technicalities of adding an 11 yo to CommComm.
• Responded to Editors’ questions  stemming from the summer letter.
• Emailed Trevor and Timmy with thoughts about Strategic Planning.
• Weekly call with CB- listing and promoting virtual events, SIG promotion and authentication issues.
• Started thread in M-Leaders about how volunteering gives a sense of ownership.
• Forwarded change of address from a member.
• Sent summer Editors’ letter to a few people who didn’t get it via Mensa Connect.
• Alerted staff to repetition of an event every day for over a year on the National Events calendar.
• Drafted a motion proposal for the IBD ExComm to discuss regarding members’ rights vs members’ safety.
• Responded to a member trying to accept the new TOS.
  
• Sent Q Report reminder and other discussion topics to Nat Awards Chair.
• Responded on M-Leaders about correlations involving newsletters’ content.
• Alerted Staff to a surname misspelling on the AML Awards page.
• Requested help with Volunteerism articles for Bulletin from Nat Ombudsman and Membership Officer.
• Pubs Officer zoom call- 19 attended.
• Nudged Staff re Awards video and sending out certificates/plaques, and pins.
• Discussed Volunteerism column with Bulletin Editor.
• Wrote quarterly reports ( this actually takes an hour or more).
• Looked into adding SIG editors to the MC Pubs Officer community. Hit a precedence wall with staff so initiated a work-around.
• Questioned why content of Leader is repeated despite having given a long list of content ideas.
• Wrote a blog post about effective Leaders and Servants.
• Advised RVC7 and Denver LocSec regarding a FB administrative conflict.
• Long zoom call with CB.
• Long email to Trevor about several staff centric topics. 
• Filled out DiSC survey in preparation for AMC planning session ( I'm Dominant, focused on results, and easily frustrated and annoyed by others' perceived incompetence- no surprise there!

Communications Committee

• Drafted Big Audacious Goals for Mensa Communications
• Sent intro email to new committee members with BAG and little goals.
• Resent goals and what projects I hope each person will work on.
• Began assigning projects to committee members.
• Began assembling a spreadsheet of LG newsletters from which to gather and curate all virtual offerings that could be made more widely available to other members.
• Lots of discussion about  best methods for gathering and promoting LG virtual offerings.
• Shared another set of columns to be added to the Pubs Officers’ library.
• Began discussion of how to help LGs implement electronic voting. Asked LocSecs what they need.
• Began discussion  about how to improve LG websites.

Strategic Planning Committee

• Made suggestions for how the committee might remain useful after the AMC’s newest Vision Quest.

Marketing Committee

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Name & Logo Committee

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SIGs Advisory Committee

• Voted to approve a new SIG

National Awards Committee

• Nagged Staff about video and sending pins, plaques, and certificates as well as planning to do better next year.

Effective Leaders...and Servants

As an AMC person, I’m often labeled as a “leader” in Mensa. And while I do lead committees and discussions, most of my work is done as a servant to the members and organization.

 

I recently read an interesting article about being an effective leader:

 

 

 MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK

 If you want something, ask for it . . . Go get it.

 

FOLLOW YOUR PASSION

Be passionate about the area you’re leading; how else can you empower and motivate teams around you?

 

IMPROVE YOUR PUBLIC SPEAKING

Without the confidence to speak in front of groups or even infront of a small team you’re leading, it’s tough to effectively.

 

BE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE

Habitual negativity is a slippery slope. Effective leaders shift their mindset to invoke positivity in those around them. Something that may have been an “issue” or “problem” can instead be an opportunity to improve. A positive influence is infectious—and makes the work more enjoyable for you and your employees.

 

BE HUMBLE

Let the work, results, and performance speak for themselves, rather than talking about how great you are. Leaders with big egos and self-centered behavior eventually hit a wall. 

 

BE WELL-ROUNDED

Effective leaders tend to be “good or better” in most or all categories of leadership, such as people management, the ability to sell and deliver or produce results, interpersonal skills, relationship-building skills, and more.

 

PRIORITIZE INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Relationships are everything. That starts with being genuine, investing time in these relationships, respecting all opinions, and being mindful of how you treat people. 

 

COMMIT TO DEADLINES

Being committed to deadlines in addition to effort builds credibility and shows stakeholders that you are reliable and trustworthy, which often leads to additional responsibilities. 

 

 TAKE CARE OF YOU

Finding balance across mind, body, and spirit will keep effective leaders sharp, focused, and able to sustain their positive impact in the long term. 

 

KEEP RESKILLING 

Whether it’s training, reading, or side projects, even the most senior leaders never stop learning. Particularly now, in 2022, when technology is changing faster than most humans are capable of adapting, if you aren’t a continuous learner, you will eventually be left behind.

 

BE SELF-SUFFICIENT

Demonstrate that you can handle a role with minimal supervision. If you’re independently capable, a next obvious step will be to lead and guide others.

 

BECOME AN EXPERT IN SOMETHING

Covering many types of assignments and roles is useful to become well-rounded, but at some point, it helps to become a subject matter expert—the acknowledged go-to person.

 

You know what? All these steps make for better servants, too.