case study two l401 in 2012

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Leadership 401: Laying the Groundwork for Success in 2012 1

Case Study Two

CASE STUDY TWO

There has to be a better way!?

Janice is the President-Elect of the Shelby Real Estate Association, a well establishedorganization with over 400 members. She has been practicing real estate for over 15 years

and has enjoyed a successful and profitable career. She and her family are also wellestablished and busy in the local community. Janice joined the Board two years ago and has

done her best to try to attend as many meetings as her busy schedule allows. She was quietly pleased to have been asked to serve as President-Elect of the Association and confided to her

husband: You know Dan, I think this will be good for my career and profile. I do worrythough; it seems to be a pretty weak Board. I have never seen any governance policies or

anything and they just seem to fly by the seat of their pants. Oh well, maybe I can turn thingsaround. Besides, this business has been good to us. Maybe it is my time to give back.

Eight months later

It is 2 p.m. on a chilly and damp October day. As she leaves the Association following a long

and frustrating Board meeting, Janice passes a couple of fellow Directors continuing todiscuss items from the meeting while standing by their cars in the parking lot. She feels her

irritation mounting as she settles into the car, turns on the ignition and thinks: W hat a colossal waste of time that was! For the past three hours everyone just seemed to talk around issues.

No one was prepared or able to make any sort of a decision. Shelby is facing some very real issues. Can efficiencies be realized through shared services with other associations? W hen

will we face the reality that we need to either renovate our existing building to provide more space or buy or lease new space? How much longer are we going to put our heads in the

sand and not address the need to consider a new MLS ®

provider? W e are woefully behind in

the introduction of technology and applications for our member REALTORS ®

. And moreimmediate, how are we going to address increasingly vocal complaints about lock boxes? Inthe midst of these important issues, the President entertained a 20-minute discussion on why

staff picked a particular venue for the upcoming Holiday party.W ith 12 Directors, you can only imagine how many opinions were

expressed!

Janice wonders why the Board can¶t seem to take any sort of aleadership stance on any substantive issue? Board members seem

to be checking out. Others just don¶t seem to get the issues andhow serious they are. Many Directors leave meetings early. Some

Directors have been on the Board for 8 years. Many spend their time in meetings checking their emails and other applications on

their tablet devices. Warren, the President, often assumes that theyare reviewing the meeting materials that had been pre-distributed.

Warren is a friendly, congenial, president who just wants everyoneto get along, but more importantly, to like him. To this end, he will

often ramble off topic or speak to issues using personal stories that




Case Study Two

sometimes have little, if anything, to do with the topic at hand. Unfortunately, this hasresulted in his inability to take control of a meeting and as a result, they ramble and run late.

All Committee chairs are asked to present a report at each meeting. These reports can take

hours. Janice is also frustrated that no Committee appears to have linked their goals or work-

plans to the strategic priorities identified during the Association¶s strategic planningdiscussions last spring. Debate on any issue often ends up getting personal. People interruptone another. Side conversations are rampant. In fact, Warren often seems relieved when he

manages to simply move onto the next agenda item and leave a contentious one behind.Janice wishes she could count how many times she has heard him say: Thank you for your

comments. W e will bring this back to our next meeting and ask the ABC Committee to takeanother look at it or ask Heather and her team to suggest what our next steps should be.

Early in the year Warren attempted to address a serious issue and make some changes. He

had the support of the Past President; however, the long term directors beat him down,explaining: that that¶s not the way this Board functions and if you would have been around as

long as we have, you¶d remember what happened when they tried that back in the Y2K days.He has admitted to Janice that he is looking forward to passing the reins at the AGM.

Heather, Shelby¶s Executive Officer, is clearly frustrated and has simply begun to make

decisions on her own. While she is well-meaning and competent, Janice is oftenuncomfortable with the direction she has taken without Board approval.

One month later

Heather is looking tired and appears to be spending an inordinate amount of time in

committee meetings. She has confided in Janice that she is not sure how much longer she can

take it. Janice is concerned that with all of the retirements and EO vacancies in the industryHeather may leave for greener pastures. Just last month, Heather was approached by anindependent listing service and unbeknownst to the Board (including Janice), she has had an

initial interview with them.

Janice takes some comfort in the fact that some Board colleagues are also feeling that theBoard is spinning its wheels and seem to be getting frustrated with the apparent lack of

direction. Just last week Janice also faced an awkward series of questions at a neighborhoodfunction. She now worries that her involvement with this mess will impact her reputation in

the community. She found it disheartening when one industry colleague breezily declared:You are a good sport to sit on that Board Janice. I don¶t know why anyone would want to

join that old boys¶ club? I hear that Board is a hornet¶s nest! Another neighbour, who is alsoin the business, leaned in and added: I hear that both Andrew Kims and Jeetesh Mitra were

thinking of getting involved but when they found out how little you guys focus on strategicissues they decided against it. I suppose you must be the one holding it together! You¶ll be a

good President. W hen do you take over?




Case Study Two

As she leaves the function she makes a decision: That¶s it. I can either quit or try to turn this Board around. She mutters to herself, I¶m going to do it. I am going to try to turn this Board

around. There is no reason for it not to be an effective governing body. She is just not surewhat to do. She also has an uneasy feeling that she had better get started immediately or she

may lose Heather. It may already be too late. She asks herself: W hy do we seem to be the

only two around here who sense the need for change?

The next day

After a fitful sleep, Janice arrives at the office and decides to take action at the next Board

meeting. The key agenda item for that meeting will be CRA compliance guidance for Not-For-Profit Status of Real Estate Boards and Associations.




Case Study Two

Appendix A

SHELBY ASSOCIATION OF R EALTORS®

5-year Strategic Framework

Mission

SAR is a professional organization, committed to serving the real estate needs of our community, promoting the REALTORS

®professional image and providing our members with

the services and support required to enable them to be successful.

Strategic Pr ior ities

y Develop a long-range financial plan for the Association.

y Enhance the availability and use of technology tools for members.

y Contribute to the protection of MLS® and CREA trademarks.y Increase volunteer engagement on Association committees and promote leadership

development.

y Build strong positive relationships with our communities and broader public.

y Enhance our commitment to supporting green initiatives.

Appendix B

SRA Board Committees

Commercial Realtors® Committee

Community Involvement CommitteeData Access Committee

Education CommitteeFinance and Audit Committee

Holiday Celebration Party Committee Nominating and Governance Committee

Past President¶s Night and Silent Auction CommitteeSanta Claus Parade Sub-Committee

SRA Charity Golf Tournament Committee




Case Study Two

Appendix C

Board Activity and Attendance Statistics

Activity Meeting dates Directors attending Directors absent

Board Meeting

January 8 4

February 7 5

March 6 6

April 9 3

May 11 1

June 10 2

August 7 5

September 11 1

October 10 2

November 9 3

December 11 1

Commercial Realtors® Committee

January 4 1

March 3 2

June 5 0

October 5 0

Data Access Committee

March 2 1

June 3 0 September 3 0

Finance and Audit Committee

February 4 0

April 3 1

June 2 2

October 4 0

Nominating and Governance Committee

February 4 1

May 5 0

September 5 0 December 3 2




Case Study Two

Activity Meeting dates Directors attending Directors absent

Education Committee

February 4 1

March 3 2

June 4 1 September 5 0

November 3 2

Community Involvement Committee

February 3 0

March 2 1

April 2 1

Past President¶s Night and Silent Auction Committee

May 5 0

June 3 2

August 2 3

September 4 1

Holiday Celebration Party Committee

September 4 0

October 3 1

November 4 0

December 3 1

SRA Charity Golf Tournament Committee

January 5 1

March 3 3

May 5 1

June 5 1

July 3 3

August 4 2

September 6 0

Santa Claus Parade sub-committee

September 3 0

October 11th

2 1

October 22nd

3 0

November 5th 2 1

November 17th 3 0




Case StudyOne

Debr ief Questions

1. W hat are the problems highlighted in this case?




Case StudyOne

2. As a result, what specific action needs to be taken now? By whom? By when?

case study two l401 in 2012

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