How to Unstick a Sticky Board Member BY LORI R. STORM, CAMEX, CCAM
W
hat a year! Everyone has
even turn on their computers. With no
gotten onto the fast track
change at all they are attending a video
for learning new ways to do
meeting!
business. Have your boards come along for the ride? Or are your boards stuck
Video conferencing can be a challenge
in a time warp and unable to consider
for some. Maybe it would help to
anything new? Let’s see if we can
conduct a practice session one -on-one
unstick them a bit.
and try stuff out. What happens if I do this? How do I sound? Are headphones
Sometimes you can move your board
better? Maybe they will want to try it if
members along if you offer them a small
others seem to be managing. Let them
change or ask them to make this just
know it is just a trial and doesn’t have to
a trial. If your board doesn’t think they
stay the norm.
will be locked into something forever, they might be more willing to try a little
Here is another electronic nudge you
something different.
might try with your boards. How about receiving board packets electronically?
TECHNOLOGY ISSUES
While the ultimate goal might be to
Video conferencing is just this type of
streamline the process for the manager
challenge. Managers have been thrown
and to save the board the cost of
into the deep end of this pool without
printing and mailing, getting boards
water wings, but some boards have
comfortable with looking at documents
been reluctant to even step into the
electronically is an end in itself.
shallow end. So how do we move them along? Let them know how much it can
Start them out easy. Send out the
be just like something they are already
packet electronically but bring
used to.
hard copies to the board meetings. Encourage them to bring their laptops
Most board members are comfortable
or tablets, but to use the hard copies as
having a phone conference meeting;
an assist.
it is something they may have had to do previously. Just let everyone know
What about mailing out the agenda and
that they can join the video meeting
manager’s report to the board? Then
by phone if they like. If they want to
they can make notes on paper and rely
see how it works, they can turn on
on the electronic version for document
their computers and see others in the
referral as needed. Again, let them know
meeting and look at documents that
it is an experiment and that no one is
are being shared. But they are under
locked into this format.
no obligation to set up a camera or
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Vision Fall 2020 | cacm.org
