Leadership Notes

Houston, we have a problem

By Maureen McGonagle, NIRSA President
Tom Kirch, President-elect
Greg Jordan, Past President

While it may appear that nothing is amiss with our governance structure and nomination and election process, there is growing evidence to the contrary. 

• 2002 McKinley Report* consultant findings concluded that the Association and NIRSA Members are dealing with massive changes in both the profession and the membership organization. The consultants noted that because more than one-half of the board turns over every year, it is difficult to maintain strategic continuity and ensure knowledge-based decision making. The report recommended that the NIRSA governance model be overhauled.
• The 2002-2003 Governance Work Team provided follow-up to the McKinley Report and confirmed its findings.
• In the past two years, the nominations deadline had to be extended because there weren’t enough candidates to fill available slates.
• In recent elections there has been wide variance in the number of nominees for office; some offices have had as many as six nominees, but many have had just two.
• Four years ago there was one Board of Director (BOD) position that had only one candidate slated.
• Effective Board members have many attributes in common; they are organized, informed, deliberate, thorough, familiar with budgets, skilled at facilitation, good listeners, good with follow-through, and have strong written communication skills. Public speaking is perhaps the skill that is most visible to our membership, but it is also one of the least important skills needed for success as a board member. Yet, we continue to require a speech before holding elections. NIRSA is the only Council of Higher Education Management Associations (CHEMA) member that continues to use a speech-based election model.

Strategic map. One of our goals is “NIRSA will advance knowledge-based governance and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of operations.” The BOD has implemented various adjustments to solve small issues (e.g., shifting responsibilities of the executive committee, incorporating a transition time for Regional Vice Presidents, tweaking the nominations and elections process), but it has become apparent that small fixes will no longer suffice. It is time to take a big-picture approach.

Jim Collins wrote that “good is the enemy of great.” Our organization values its traditions, but we need to distinguish between traditions that should be embraced and continued and traditions that are preventing our organization from achieving greatness. We, your executive committee, ardently believe that our governance structure and nominations and elections process falls into the latter category, and we look forward to engaging our membership in dialogue and discourse to pursue options.

Member input. Because member input is absolutely crucial in investigating this issue and developing recommendations to ensure a viable and successful future, we are seeking your input in multiple ways:

• A 30-minute “Committee of the Whole” (i.e., open mike for member input) will be scheduled during the 2007 Annual Business Meeting in Minneapolis.
• A blog will be posted on the NIRSA website to address governance and nominations and elections questions and comments.
• Questions about governance and nominations and elections will be included on the soon-to-be launched Comprehensive NIRSA Member survey.
• A Governance Work Team will be appointed to solicit further member input, examine feedback, and make recommendations to the Board of Directors.

Please contact any member of the Executive Committee (mmcgonag@depaul.edu; tom.kirch@oregonstate.edu; jordan@oakland.edu) if you’d like to ask questions or share your feedback.

Please note: the recognition of this problem in no way diminishes the qualifications or experiences of volunteers who have been nominated, currently or previously, for BOD positions. We’ve been remarkably fortunate to present qualified candidates to our membership, but at times it is due to an incredible amount of persistence and persuasion from Nomination & Election Committee members and a healthy dose of luck. The end result has been acceptable, and sometimes outstanding, but the process clearly isn’t working well and it would not be prudent to continue crossing our fingers in hope that our good fortune will continue. The only reason for the Executive Committee to pursue this is because we believe it is in our Association’s and our members’ best interest. We look forward to your feedback and active assistance.

* NIRSA commissioned the consulting firms of McKinley Marketing and Ronin Marketing to conduct a joint audit and analysis report for the association. The report was presented to NIRSA on April 1, 2002.