12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Leadership Success Tips and Tools (and a few imperatives) for REALTOR® Association Boards of Directors

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Why are associations important? “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” Benjamin Franklin

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Communication Is The Key 1.The Committees 2.The Membership 3.The Staff 4.The rest of the Board

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Committee Communications 1.Clearly defined roles 2.Systematic communications 3. Two-way communications 4.Everyone’s responsibility

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Committee Communications 1. Clearly Defined Roles Written statement for each group Mini-Mission Statement Guided by Strategic Plan

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Committee Communications 2. Systematic Communications Board Report Forms Board Delegation Forms Chair Reports to Board Summary of Actions to other committees

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Committee Communications 3. Two-Way Communications Board Liaisons on Committees Committees on Board Agenda (if necessary) Board should ask (not tell) Committee Relationship between President and Chair

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA 4. Whose is responsible to establish and maintain effective communications between the Board and Committees? EVERYONE!

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Membership Communication 1.Listen to be heard 2.President’s Elevator speech 3.Multi-platform 4.Transparency

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Membership Communication 1. Listen to be Heard Survey before Board debate Share results of survey Relate decisions to member input

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Membership Communication 2. President’s Elevator Speech 2 or 3 simple/clear goals Condensed to 2 minutes Stay consistent Repeat as often as possible

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Membership Communication 3. Multi-Platform Communications E-Newsletter Flyers Printed Newsletters Twitter Blogs Facebook VoiceShots.com Meetings

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA What is “transparency?” “Candid, open, or frank. Free of deceit.”

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA What is transparency? Transparency is more than telling the simple truth about what you did; it is the act of making known what you are thinking about doing, how you are planning to think about it, who is going to be involved, and why you are thinking about doing it. Then, after you have done it, telling what you did and why.

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Transparency It is no longer a matter of seeing through, it is now about seeing into.

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Membership Communication 4. Transparency Builds Trust Builds Interest Builds Credibility

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Communications with Staff 1.Early and often 2.Establish rules of engagement 3.Follow team approach

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA The Ultimate Success As a volunteer, you are in the real estate business. Staff is in the Realtor business. You’ll know you had a successful year if at the end, this is still true.

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Staff or Member Driven? Neither! Strive to be driven by the Strategic Plan

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Communications Within the Board 1.Volunteer Agreement 2.Knowledge-Based Decisions (not opinion) 3.Discussion before debate 4.Bobby’s Suggestions instead of Robert’s Rules

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Communications with Board 1. Volunteer Agreement Defines expectations Discourages opinions stated as fact Establishes separation agreement

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Communications with Board 2. Knowledge Based Decisions What do we know What do we need to know Who do we need to consult What are the alternatives

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Communications with Board 3. Discussion Before Debate Debates are confrontational Discussions are collaborative Most Board decisions are collaborative

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Communications with Board 4. Bobby’s Suggestions Robert’s Rules are archaic (1876) Designed for keeping order, not making decisions Know Robert’s Rules, but don’t use them all the time

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA The Strategic Board Spend 80% of your time on strategic discussions Place strategic items early on the agenda Limit “reports” from committees and put them late on the agenda Avoid doing committee work

12/2/09VAR Leadership ConferenceCharlottesville, VA Resources ASAE’s CEO/CEO Symposium with Glen Tecker President’s Talk at Realtown NAR’s Leadership Field Guide NAR’s Association Models Tool me –