For the last year, many of us who are devoted to our alternative currency economy have been guiding our TimeBank to a stronger leadership base in order to ensure that it lives long and prospers.
To accomplish this goal, we have studied the work of our past presidents and other strong supporters of our organization. We’ve taken their greatest accomplishments and built on them, and strengthened those areas that have been less successful. We’ve also gotten input from some of our newer members who see our TimeBank with fresh eyes, and have made suggestions based on new models of organization. Thank you all for your wonderful contributions!
The end result of this study is a slight structural reorganization – nothing huge, the basics remain the same. We just have a new flow in terms of getting things done to keep our TimeBank alive and thriving.
The board of directors will still have from three to 11 people, and a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. One change here is that we now have the option of having two people share any of these positions. Another is that, most of the board’s “Members-at-Large” will be taking on more specific roles in supporting our TimeBank.
We identified three major areas we need to focus on intently in order to keep our organization running smoothly:
Bringing in potential new members – all activities related to this now come under the heading Marketing.
Helping people join and start using the TimeBank – all activities related to this now come under the heading Membership Process.
Increasing interest in and ease of making exchanges – all activities related to this now come under the heading Member Services.
Just about everything we do falls into one of these three categories, so we have created three teams to manage them.
Two co-coordinators share the leadership of each team, working together to manage the team’s other members and keep those essential aspects of TBB running smoothly.
We created this job-share situation so no one person has to do it all or take on all the responsibility and so that if one person becomes busy with their non-TBB life, the other can cover for him/her. Rather than sharing the work, we are Sharing the Joy!
Another change is in nomenclature. You will see that the change-over from committees to teams has been completed on the Contact Us page of the TBB TIMES and on the website. We made this change because we like the action and camaraderie aspects of “teams” and teamwork better than the stodgy, corporate sounding “committees”.
Of course there are a few things we do that don’t fall into one of those three categories. These things support the overall organization, including the Board of Directors. For example, our IT Team helps every aspect of our organization, and so will our Incentives Team, whose job is to make being a member of TBB even more fun. Those teams, and a few other functions, are part of our fourth team – our Support Team, whose members are not necessarily on the Board, but answer directly to it.
Having at least one of each of the three main team’s co-coordinators be an At-Large member of the Board eliminates the need for a separate cabinet that reports to the board, while setting up a situation where each team reports directly to the Board about what’s happening with their team. This way, everyone in a leadership position is present at each board meeting to offer support, provide input, and help make decisions!
This increased level of cooperative teamwork helps build our community, while giving members greater opportunities to meet each other and work together. It also allows us to approach the hard work of leadership from a warm spirit of camaraderie, while making running our TimeBank much more growth-oriented, nourishing, and fun.
One of the other benefits of this altered structure is that the current board is populated by leaders, all of whom are participants in board meetings and all of whom have the opportunity to lead one themselves during the year. This insures that at the end of each year we have a group of people who understand the process of running TBB and are trained and prepared to be the next year’s leaders of our community. We trust that this will help TBB have a long and successful life!
We’d like to encourage you to get in on the fun – and yes, we are having a great time. Right now there are openings for Marketing and Member Services Team Co-coordinators. Also, our Farmer’s Market team, a component of our Marketing Team, needs two co-coordinators so we can attract some new members this year. This is a particularly important and fun team as it involves attending the Boulder Farmer’s Market once a month and interacting with lots of new and interesting people.
There are a variety of other teams that also need members, so please, consider what you’re interested in – marketing, membership process, or member services – and contact the co-coordinator of that group to talk about how you can help in a way that fits your interests and your schedule. Coming together with other members in this way will enrich your overall experience and expand your network of friends and potential helpers.