Facing up to board conflict: a five-pronged path to conflict resolution
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POSITION AVAILABLE. Fast-paced chamber of commerce must fill executive director position immediately. This nonprofit association is located in a rapidly growing, metropolitan area in the West. The incumbent will report to a volunteer board of highly successful business leaders. Salary commensurate with qualifications. Such an ad appeared following the all-too-real firing of an executive director whose tenure lasted a mere 16 months. While one might surmise that the dismissal was the result of poor-performance, it was, in fact, the outcome of an unresolved conflict within the organization’s board of directors. In the current economic climate, it’s not unusual for association executives to fear that the day will arrive when the board decides that his or her performance does not meet the board’s expectations. However, it is particularly disheartening when a board chooses to fire the executive director rather than resolve its own internal conflict among its members. It is important to note that conflict within a board can be valuable and often aids in growth and change within an organization. But it is critical that the conflict be recognized, managed, and turned into a positive force in advancing the goals of the organization. By reviewing the chamber of commerce example, we see what happens when a board is without the tools necessary to turn potentially dangerous conflict into a constructive decision-making process. My experience in association management and board governance–as well as my research on board conflict resolution–are the basis for the recommendations presented in this article. The research findings, published by the ASAE Foundation in 2001 in Leaders Working Together: Five Steps to conflict Resolution, provided the background for the development of a collaborative problem resolution model that would have greatly benefited the chamber of commerce in our example. Let’s take a look at the background of the chamber’s board conflict and what might have been done to resolve it. Seeds of conflict The former executive director of the chamber of commerce was caught in the middle of a tug of war involving the personal agendas of two forceful members of the chamber’s board. While the strategic plan for the chamber called for the organization to focus on growing the local economy, there was fundamental conflict as to how that plan should be achieved. One board member, the general manager of a large hotel chain, was adamant that the chamber direct its resources to building a stronger tourism trade in the city. Another board member, the owner of a small business, vehemently believed that the way to grow the business community was to garner full support and financial resources for the development of biotechnology startup companies. The conflict’s foundation was laid during the hiring process of the former director. The only compromise that either member had made during their two respective terms on the board was to hire the former executive director–since each had originally supported a different candidate. Sixteen months Source : accessmylibrary.com |