I Don't Like Boards
I guess I should clarify.
From Merriam-Webster online:
a piece of sawed lumber of little thickness and a length greatly exceeding its width
This kind doesn't bother me. In fact, many many of them have been used to build a very nice house for me.
a sheet of insulating material carrying circuit elements and terminals so that it can be inserted in an electronic apparatus
This type of board is good too. I use circuit boards all the time. If it weren't for this kind of board, I wouldn't have the job that I have that allowed me to purchase the house made of the other boards I mentioned.
a group of persons having managerial, supervisory, investigatory, or advisory powers
This is the kind of board that annoys me.
It probably annoys me most because I'm currently a member of this type of board.
I'm a member of the board of directors of a local community theatre group. It's an all-volunteer board for the most part, though often, the board members receive payment when they produce or direct a play.
The thing that annoys me about boards is that it's all too often very difficult for a board to come to a consensus.
For two consecutive Saturdays now, I've met with this board. There were very few items on the agenda:
- Review (post-partum?) of the most recent show
- Selection of the fall show
- Discussion of a "tribute" show for the theatre troupe's founder
- Discussion of a script library
- Discussion of board member roles and responsibilities
The annoying thing is that in more than two hours of meetings, we still haven't been able to make a single decision as a board. We should have been able to select a fall show. There are only two choices that have been presented, and one of them isn't very feasible for a small theatre with a small pool of talent and a small budget. The other is relatively unknown, but all of the board members were furnished with a copy of the script at the end of last week's meeting. Only half of the six board members even read the script, and then they didn't want to make a decision without having read the script.
Ugh.
During the actual meetings, the conversation meanders. Maybe it's the dramatic nature of the people involved, but as a group, we can't seem to stay focused long enough on any subject to have any meaningful conversation.
Then there's the fact that we're all friends, and everyone seems to be unwilling to make ANY decision that might not make EVERYONE happy. That reminds me of a workplace that was redesigned by a committee. The end result was horrid. Instead of doing what might be the best thing for everyone, the committee did what everyone hated the least.
That's what a board does. It tries to meet the goals for which it was created, but too often, it tries to do so in a way that couldn't possibly offend anyone, but by doing its job in that way, it ends up crippling itself, doing its job a lot less efficiently and effectively.
And that's why I don't like boards.