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  • From: Anonymous c/o Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>
  • To: msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [MSAR] Leadership problems
  • Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 08:45:28 -0600


[The following text is an edited version of an e-mail sent to
me by someone who needs advice ASAP. --Una]


Leadership

Our "board of directors" are on a major power trip (mainly our
head director, who has the power to dissolve the team totally).
Here are a few of my problems.

The attitude of our board is "It's my way or the highway."
Any new ideas or suggestions, usually when raised by certain
team members, that don't match exactly with the board
members' views are dismissed. If the team member wants to
discuss it further they are disrespectful. A board is meant
to guide an organization, not rule it like a dictator. This
makes an organization dated and ineffective.

This head director is starting to sound like a high school drama
queen. I know they run the team, and I have respect for that, but
I expect for them to show little more tact and respect for the
people who make up the team.


Accountability

When the board members are responsible for a task (setting up
tests, planning special trainings, adding info to the webpage,
writing up directions to training areas, etc.) the team is
lucky if it gets done. When a non board member volunteers the
task is always done quickly.

Reliability also means showing up for practices on a regular
basis and not letting your personal life interfere with the
team or its function, and some board members have fallen down
in this area.

One of the board members has lost several documents I have
given them to update my file and then told me nicely that I
never gave the documents to them.


Training and team work

I have made a few recommendations about trainings and how certain
ways may be better for the whole team. Most concern the mounted
folks which they have no idea about and I have no problems with
getting my way.

But some trainings the board said was useless because we would
never be called out without the K9 folks. For example, a
practice with no dogs, no horses, everyone on foot. That way
everyone would learn at least the basics. I and others thought
that if we did this at least once every month it would help get
everyone in better physical shape if not motivate others to get
in better shape. Instead we were put down and told it wasn't
needed and that those that weren't required to be field ready
would not need that information.


Should I stay or should I go?

It's bad enough that several of our team members have resigned
already. I want to resign too because of this stupid drama, but
I invested a lot of time and effort in building the MSAR field
team. I made the standards (modeled after other teams standards)
and the testing requirements, etc. Everything about the mounted
side of this unit is because of me. When the drama started I
stopped recruiting because I wasn't about to bring someone in to
witness it. It still hasn't stopped.

I've been told by several agencies having jurisdiction that we
will never be called out because of this head director. Some of
our K9 folks asked a board member of another SAR team for advice
and were told to just get out. The other team know about our
head director and told our K9 folks that we are loosing respect
of other teams in the area and to get out before we are caught
up in it.

Whether or not I stay I'm planning on joining other SAR teams to
at least keep my credibility up.






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