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  • From: "Ian@modricusa.com" <ian@modricusa.com>
  • To: "'Mounted search and rescue'" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [MSAR] Leadership problems
  • Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 09:03:05 -0600

Short answer(s)

A) Look at the legal construction of the team papers - can you oust them ?

If not

B) Leave and create your own new organization - if your team is good and
proficient you will be called :-)

Have been there so know first hand - after a time association with idiots
is simply being stupid - you are judged not only by your skills but those
you associate with.

Good luck !

Ian



-----Original Message-----
From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Anonymous c/o
Una Smith
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 8:45 AM
To: msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [MSAR] Leadership problems


[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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