“Oh, the grand old Duke of York He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill And he marched them down again And when they were up, they were up And when they were down, they were down And when they were only half-way up They were neither up nor down.” And again. And again.”
According to Wikipedia, “The Grand Old Duke of York” (also sung as “The Noble Duke of York”) is an English children’s nursery rhyme, often performed as an action song. Its lyrics have become proverbial for futile action.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word “futile” includes “…occupied with trifles, something of little value, substance, or importance”. Imagine it as an unhealthy focus on rule violations over other equally important issues, or a focus upon personalities instead of problems. Such preoccupation with trivial matters rather than significant matter results in wasted resources.
LEADERSHIP VERSUS GOVERNANCE
Let’s first begin with a picture of what governance and leadership are supposed to be, in order to avoid the pitfall of futility. It’s essential to see the actual definitions of words that we often throw around. Leaders are to set the direction, framework, processes, and procedures and make sure they happen. Interestingly, governance involves authority, decision-making, and accountability. Those who have power or authority are responsible for interpreting and applying a set of rules or guidance by making decisions for the betterment of a larger group or body. As an example, you hire professionals to opine on their particular expertise, and once you read those opinions, you ask questions to establish the ground rules and choose a course of action based on the information. That’s governance.
There’s no reason for residential community boards of directors to feel unique in this regard. Struggling to find the balance between effective leadership and futility is a common problem that boards from many non-profit organizations routinely face. It’s interesting to venture outside of the realty association industry because members on other nonprofit boards must look at their board service with an eye towards standard best practices for all boards. While many nonprofit boards make
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