ACROSS THE BOARD

Define All Ethical "Gray Areas"

Frequently asked questions from board members involve ethical behavior, and a lack of guidelines for board/CEO responsibilities

So many of you have asked me questions related to board service and suggested that I address them in this column. So, what follows are some answers.

A Question of Ethics

IAPD sent questionnaires to board members and agency directors seeking their concerns about ethical issues. All of the survey respondents agreed that ethics is doing what is right, fair and consistent with standards and policies. It's knowing what is right from wrong. Honesty was the most frequently mentioned word in describing ethics.

Most of the directors and board members answered that they encounter an ethics situation frequently (i.e., at least once a month). Situations vary from compromising their behavior and breaking rules or policies on such issues as allowing family members into closed programs, hiring staff based on recommendations by board members and awarding contracts to the "politically deserving." These kinds of actions all are unethical.

Ethical "gray areas" mentioned include attending conferences at taxpayer expense and not attending educational sessions. Board members seem particularly unsure whether it's okay to use golf privileges and other district facilities and equipment at no charge.

One alarming situation mentioned in the survey was board members revealing closed sessions discussions to friends and the general public. This action can be very damaging to an agency and has serious repercussions for the board.

Board members shared that they often felt "between a rock and a hard place" in allowing friends, relatives, constituents and others special consideration, especially when they personally contacted the board member.

To avoid these "hard places" and questionable situations, it's wise to adopt a code of ethical conduct. Below are some elements that should be incorporated and adopted in your code.

• A board member will not exercise individual authority over a staff member or the organization. (This includes the president of the board.) Recognize that the authority to act comes from official board action.

• Understand that personal goals are subordinate to the board's collective goals.

• Board members will honor all rules, regulations and policies of the organization.

• The board will respect the dignity, values and opinions of each board member, the executive and the public. Opinions of others are encouraged. The Golden Rule learned in elementary school is still as valid today and should guide how we interact with fellow board members and the public.

• The board will focus on issues and not personalities. They will conduct themselves with courtesy toward each other, the staff and the public during board meetings.

• The board will function as a team. They will recognize that voting is a democratic process and the majority rules. Once the board takes final action it becomes a board decision and board members will not create barriers to implementing board policy.

• Board members will bring issues to the full board, not to select members.

Who Does What? The Board or the CEO?

Dr. Ted Flickinger IAPD Executive Director

Definite gray areas exist between the board s responsibilities and the executive's responsibilities. Problems and issues will occur leaving questions regarding who has responsibility. Some boards cover these subjects at their annual retreats and make a list of situations that left doubt regarding who is responsible for what. Other boards do not wait for a retreat; they bring up these issues at a board meeting for general discussion. For example, what does a board member do if they have heard a complaint about a particular staff member or about the executive? Its easier to answer the question about the executive.

As gray areas become apparent, time should be set aside to clear the air of differences of opinion regarding who is responsible for what.

Another example is an executive wanting to change

6/ Illinois Parks and Recreation

the logo for the agency. Is that his responsibility or the responsibility of the board? These are perhaps minor issues in comparison to others but, left unanswered, they can start creating problems and a bigger gap between the executive and the board.

Therefore, it is important for the executive and the board to have a clear definition of duties. They should sit down and brainstorm what are policy and what are operational issues.

The following questions have come to our office and serve as good examples for typical board/CEO gray areas.

• Should a board member help write a grant proposal?

• Should a board discuss a report concerning an employee who was intoxicated while on the job?

• Does the executive or the president of the board or a board-designated person speak on behalf of the agency to the media, at social functions and at civic organization luncheons?

• Whose responsibility is it to determine that all facilities are a smoke-free environments?

• Who sets the minimum salary for a newly created staff position?

• Who hires a consultant for a five-year master plan that the board wanted to see developed?

• Who makes the final decision regarding which firm will audit your agency's annual revenue and expenditures?

• Can an executive hire a new employee for an unbudgeted position?

• Who awards contracts to vendors?

• Who notifies vendors of bidding results?

• Who decides what bank to invest with or how the agency's funds will be invested?

• Who retains legal counsel for the agency?

• Does the board have any responsibility when a longtime and very popular employee is fired for poor job performance?

Boards should struggle with the answers to these questions and allow the executive an opportunity to present his or her idea on each issue as well. Most importantly, the board and the executive should have a pre-approved chart of responsibilities. As gray areas become apparent, time should be set aside to clear the air of differences of opinion regarding who is responsible for what. In these cases, it requires a joint effort from the board and the executive.

For a chart identifying board and executive relationships, look up "Across the Board" in the March/April 1998 issue of Illinois Parks & Recreation magazine (volume 29, no. 3), or contact me at IAPD, 211 E. Monroe, Springfield, IL 62701, 217.523.4554 (phone), tflickinger@eosinc.com (e-mail).

If things go wrong as they sometimes do; If you lose a vote as you sometimes will; If your service as a board member seems to have lost some of its fun; Take time to remember the reason that you ran for commissioner, which is to increase the quality of life and recreational opportunities for the citizens within your community; Sometimes reflecting on the big picture will keep you from sweating the small stuff

Friendships with Staff

Again and again, I have seen board members become friends with a staffmember of an agency and look out for the interest of that particular person over the interest of other staff. If you attempt to intervene in any staff problems, you are breaking the chain of command and you are undermining the executive's authority. This can have a tremendously negative effect on the efficiency of your agency. Staff will be unsure who really runs the show. They are not going to know whose direction to follow when conflict arises.

If a staff member brings a problem to your attention, it is not necessarily wrong to listen to the problem. However, the board members first response should be "let's channel this through the executive" and make it very dear to the staff member that board members do not manage staff.

What Is the District's Image?

• Dynamic? Does the agency attract attention to itself? Is it flexible, active, goal-oriented? Is it pioneering? Does it develop new, innovative programs, facilities, services?

• Cooperating? Are staff members friendly? Are they well-liked? Are they eager to please? Are they professional at all times?

• Businesslike? Is your agency shrewd? Is it persuasive, well-organized? Does it have written policies and procedures to guide operations?

• Ethical? Does the agency command public respect? Is it reputable, serves all the people? Do you stress quality in services?

• Successful? Are you well-financed? Is your agency well-supported by the citizens you serve? 

January/February 1999 /7