Trustee-years

I had a thought-provoking experience the other week. It was the AGM of the charity Urban Strawberry Lunch, of which I am a trustee, and it came up that I had been a trustee for over two years. Initially I had the “wow, time flies” feeling, and it really doesn’t seem that long since I joined the Board, but then a thought dawned on me – it hasn’t really been two years at all.

As a Board we meet monthly for two hours – giving us a total of 24 hours a year together, or about three working days. I’ve actually only been there a week. Like a reversed version of dog-years, I’d need to be a trustee for another 49 years to have worked the equivalent of a full year. I’ve no plans to stand down, but neither have I thought as far as 2059.

But does that matter? I certainly don’t feel as green as someone who started six days ago, and if you factor in preparing for meetings, and time spent thinking about and discussing issues relating to my role as trustee between meetings, the actual time spent would be considerably higher.

And of course the role of trustee is not directly comparable to that of the executive in such a crude way. The larger part of what a trustee brings to the role is often their wider experience, understanding and knowledge rather than necessarily a deep and learned understanding of the operational elements of the organisation.

In many cases a detachment from the day-to-day reality can actually be really useful, making it easier to stay strategic, and question approaches in the right way without getting bogged down in detail.

Taking all of that into account however, actual time served is an interesting thing to consider, either as a trustee or as a member of the Executive. It can serve to highlight the differing perspectives that the Board and Executive may have, and help to frame discussions more productively.

For the Executive, it’s essential to remember that unless you have told them, the daily/weekly/monthly happenings since the last Board meeting have not happened.

For the Board, it’s important to know that things have progressed operationally since the last meeting – that time doesn’t just jump from meeting to meeting, and that in the interim decisions are made and the organisation moves forward.

In any organisation, effective communication between Board and Executive is critical, and understanding the perspectives of new and old dogs alike can really reduce the barking.