[Linux-aus] Managing a committee without overloading

[Tennessee Leeuwenburg]

So, I spent a number of years as chairperson for a small owners corporation
committee. It was challenging, because we didn't have efficient systems,
transferring the systems we did have to other people was hard, and the
amount of effort put in by most owners was minimal. There was a lot of work
that needed to be done, but relatively few people who could break down the
problems and develop appropriate solutions. Then, those same people had to
implement the solutions on top of both the planning and the base
administration.

Burning out the most committed problem solvers on 'base load' was not a
great approach.

We put in place professional management, which is easy to source for an
owners corporation as there are a lot of private providers.

It looks like we have a lot of potential councillors, but few executive
officers running. If that's how it plays out tonight, we'll end up in one
of the following situations:

a) Work falling onto the ordinary member councillors because that's who is
there
b) the cycle of burnout continues, as effort falls on a few
c) we put some real money into running the organisation

I assume if nobody accepts, there is some mechanism for later voting in a
president.

As things stand, I'm the only candidate who has accepted nomination for VP.
As I stated in my spiel, I don't have the 8-12 hours per week outlined in
the position description. I am running to 'provide choice' against whoever
does have that much time. I expect I would be able to fulfil the basic
responsibilities of the role in a lower amount of time per week and would
be able to manage the decision-making required.

I need to head afk, but I wanted to provide this brief statement here.

If we end up too thin on the ground, I would strongly suggest we look at
investing in full-time paid assistance, preferably sourced from the
community, to implement the plans and projects set in place by the council.

Regards,
-Tennessee
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