It's that time again. The holidays are passed and now it seems every other TV ad is for Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or the latest abdominal tightening gizmo. Madison Avenue knows. The turn of the calendar means that it is time to cast away old, destructive habits and make yourself new and better.

Every January it's the same. But there's a cure for that. Instead of directing your New Year's resolutions at your waistline, why not resolve in 2007 to make your board -- if not leaner -- at least healthier and happier?

Here are some suggestions for making that happen.

Make a Fresh Start
Begin with yourself, and then infect the rest of the board with your newfound enthusiasm. Force yourself to get a new perspective on your board service.

One board member took this advice literally. He changed his seat at the board table and never again sat in the same seat two meetings in a row. It was a small thing, he said, but he felt it was symbolic of his trying to get out of the ruts that he and the rest of the board had fallen into.

Another board member decided to get to know her board colleagues better. She said, "It's easier working with friends than strangers. I started by being a better listener. Instead of tuning out a colleague that I disagreed with, I started to listen harder."

Another said, "I refused to succumb to paralysis by analysis. I wouldn't allow issues to be tabled meeting after meeting only to pop up each month. It's crazy to rehash details month after month before we accept the executive's recommendations."

I've always said that board service should be fun. Gaining new perspectives, making friends with fellow board members, listening harder and making timely decisions are ways for you and your fellow board members to bring more joy to the table.

When Boards Don't Function...
But, you might ask, what happens when, regardless of your perspective, you see all too clearly that you serve on a dysfunctional board?

Maybe you are unfortunate enough to serve on a board like the one that employed four executive directors in a six-year span, or the one about which a member publicly referred to his fellow board members as "three thugs and a juvenile," or the chaotic one in which a beleaguered president abruptly ended a particularly turbulent meeting even though a majority of the members voted nay on the motion to adjourn.

A dysfunctional board isn't merely a drag on the emotional well being of the commissioners and the executive. The public loses, too. And the public won't stand for it. At one agency, the power struggles, the in fighting, the absence of teamwork and the executive turnover rate became so ugly that a group of citizens showed up at a board meeting and demanded the resignation of the entire board. Commissioners tried to conduct the meeting, but all the while citizens chanted, "Resign. Resign. Resign."

...Retreat
If, no matter how hard you try, your board meetings are still in danger of becoming more intriguing than a prime-time soap opera, encourage your board president to call a retreat at which you may conduct a board self-evaluation.

A self-evaluation process allows the board to recommit itself to its core functions, which typically are to:

• Give direction to the agency.
• Review matters brought to its attention by staff, citizens and other organizations, as well as to review monthly reports and special committee reports.
• Perform long-range planning.
• Adopt ordinances or motions specifying the board's duties and the manner in which the board governs its work.
• Hire and, when necessary, fire the chief executive.
• Secure adequate finances for the agency and assure that the funds are administered properly.
• Establish sound personnel standards and policies.
• Assume some responsibility for a good public relations program.

A Do-lt-Yourself Retreat?
Serving on one board is a member who is especially trained to lead board retreats and has a good track record for doing so. That board member offers to conduct the agency's board retreat at no cost to the agency. Is that a good idea?

My answer is a very qualified 'maybe.' The agency would likely realize a small cost savings by performing the evaluation this way. But, the board member leading the self-evaluation retreat would have to understand that when he facilitates this meeting he has taken off his commissioner's hat and put on his agency volunteer's hat. As such, the executive would need to supervise the commissioner's work, just as the executive supervises the work of any other volunteer. The board member who is volunteering has no more authority when working in this volunteer capacity than any other volunteer or staff member at the agency. The executive has to be careful of the two roles the --board member and the volunteer -- to make sure they don't mix. Not only that, but the other board members must also now picture one of their own as an impartial facilitator, something that is difficult to do.

In most cases, I favor bringing in someone from outside the organization to conduct the board retreat. The most practical reason for doing so is to allow for the retreat to be a closed session in accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act, which allows boards to go into closed session to discuss "self-evaluation, practices and procedures of professional ethics when meeting with a representative of a statewide association of which the public body is a member."

Further, when a self-evaluation meeting meets the Open Meetings Act requirements for a closed session, it can more easily be held at a different venue and at a different time from when and where the board typically meets. If the goal is to get a fresh perspective, why not retreat to a new, more relaxing atmosphere and perform the task in private?

Aside from the legal benefits of having an IAPD representative conduct a board retreat and self-evaluation, there is the ironic truth that somebody from outside the organization facilitates the most worthwhile self-evaluations. Outside consultants are dispassionate about the local issues and are unaware of any history of personality clashes between individual board members. As a result, their self-examination methods and strategies are not usually compromised by local conditions. A good facilitator comes with an open mind and the expectation that board members will set aside any personal differences to work for the good of the board. Even the most contentious of boards will live up to the expectations of an outside facilitator.

Are You Ready?
There is always room to improve. Even the best boards need to look at themselves every year. If your board is ready for a fresh start in 2007,1 urge you to contact IAPD at tflickinger@ILparks.org or call 217-523-4554 to learn more about how a self-evaluation can refresh your board in 2007.