[TheThinkTank] full-timers/directors/project coordinators: how'sthe job treating you?
Mark Rehder
mark at re-cycles.ca
Sun Nov 25 21:50:00 PST 2007
To the folks that say "no hierarchy!" all I can say is Good Luck as
you try to get others to pull their weight. Pretty well ever
situation I've ever been involved with that tried to be egalitarian
(and that includes many years of working in professional music
groups) ends up with a few people doing most of the work, while many
coast along thinking how great and easy it is to be part of the
thing. And funnily enough, the ones that contribute the least are
often the ones that make the most noise when things aren't going the
way they like (and those things may not be going they way the like
because they won't attend the meetings, and even profess that they
don't read all the group's emails to keep themselves informed). Our
group is lucky, in that we only seem to have one of these types, and
everyone else seems to contribute as much as they are able.
I ended up in my position at re-Cycles many years ago because there
was a lot of stuff that needed doing as we grew, and no one was
making it happen. The founder of the group had gone on sabbatical
from his day job (and from us), and since I had already been
organizing our physical shop space I took on what he had been doing
(he came back and just volunteered as a mechanic, leaving me in my
position). I'd see something and suggest to the group and no one
would take things on. So I would do it because it had to get done.
For a few years I was even taking our metal scrap to the recyclers,
and taking home the sink towels so that they'd get washed!
(Fortunately others took these above items on as I said I'd drop them.)
I really like what I do (most times), and I think every place like
ours needs someone that will be the group's representative (at the
best of times) and the metaphorical clean-up person (at worst of
times). Watch when something big and perhaps non-fun comes along,
and how many others go silent when asked "can we all deal with
this?". Well, real life often dictates what actions need take
place, and if everyone steps away then things can start to fall apart.
And I'll be the first to acknowledge that most folks simply do not
have the time, let alone the variables of personal inclination, to
contribute to what's needed for most volunteer-run NGO's. I'm lucky
because I do not have a 9-5 job, though keeping our place organized
takes enough of my time that 2 years ago I asked for (and received) a
monthly honourarium. We have a great bunch of people in our core
group, and most have been with us for over five years (one has been
since our start in '98!). I think it's fabulous that these different
people continue to believe in and contribute to make our shop
happen. Some have had to cut back their time, but I know they still
believe in the cause.
Next year I enter my 8th year with re-Cycles, and 7th as its
Director, and it has been a great experience.
Mark
http://re-cycles.ca
On 21-Nov-07, at 7:10 PM, Jay Varner wrote:
> if you want to talk about hierarchy and power structure, you have to
> recognize that a director of a non-profit is an employee of the co-op.
> therefore, i and the other organizers of the co-op are the director's
> boss.
>
> but thinking about it that way is silly. making "more left than thou"
> judgments about it is immature. i do "consider a collective form of
> organizing where responsibilities, anxieties, and rewards are shared
> equally". but, until the revolution i have to consider a world where i
> have to pay bills. for atlanta, or any city, to have an affective bike
> co-op, a lot of work has to be done. we tried to have a handful of
> people do all the work in spare time. that does not work. it became
> clear that managing a bike co-op is, at the bare minimum, one
> full-time job. with all of us lacking a trust-fund, we had to figure
> out how to support someone to carry the load.
>
> oddly enough, since we made that move, our co-op has secured grants,
> increased open hours for the community and, god forbid, increased
> revenue.
>
> what are we going to do with all the money we're bringing in? well, we
> are going to further and broaden our mission to create equitable
> access to cycling by providing affordable bicycle maintenance services
> and education.
>
> making this work has meant paying someone to work full time. if it has
> created a hierarchy, the director is on the bottom. as a member of the
> co-op, she is equal to other organizers. before hiring her, we would
> talk about what we wanted to do, achieve consensus and then... things
> would happen very slowly. NOW when we decide something, it happens
> quickly because it is someone's full-time job to MAKE it happen. so
> guess what? atlanta has a kick-ass bike co-op. it's one thing to talk
> about left-wing theory, it's a bigger thing to put put the theory into
> practice.
>
> On Nov 21, 2007 6:20 PM, lance ayer <lanceayer at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Our initiative has taken on an egalitarian approach yet informal
>> power
>> structures still develop which lead to some people carrying more of
>> the burden than others. Mainly this process is a function of member
>> activity, those who are more active carry more of the load. Although
>> this is not an egalitarian result, it is an equitable one. So far it
>> has been working and moral is high. That being said we are still a
>> new
>> initiative and have not had to combat the problems that arise with
>> longevity. I would be interested to here from those in similar
>> organizational structures about their experience with issues
>> surounding informal power structures as well as potential solutions
>> or preventative measures. Also it is hard to ignore the benefits of
>> having a director or coordinator, how would you suggest disseminating
>> this role among a collective?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Lance
>> Calgary, Alberta
>>
>>
>> On Nov 21, 2007 3:15 PM, Adam Weber <adamlweber at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Friends,
>>>
>>> While you might not be able to "imagine it any other way" many of
>>> your
>>> comrades in the bicycle community can and do. Perhaps consider a
>>> collective form of organizing where responsibilities, anxieties, and
>>> rewards are shared equally. Taking the role of "director" and
>>> weeping
>>> over your martyrdom is not an attractive quality. Hierarchy is
>>> not our
>>> friend, whether it rides a bike or drives a car.
>>>
>>> Adam (Chicago)
>>>
>>> On Nov 20, 2007 10:06 AM, R. Dugas/Vélogik/Carrefour jeunesse
>>> emploi
>>>
>>> Saint-Laurent <velogik1 at cjestlaurent.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Very busy, very exciting, lots of good opportunities to develop
>>>> stuff and
>>>> fascinating people to work with. I've been doing this for 4
>>>> years now and
>>>> can't imagine it any other way.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I think it's the same in other organizations related to
>>>> community enterprise
>>>> because we tend to believe in what we do and therefore really
>>>> invest
>>>> ourselves in our dreams working.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> And hiring staff will not make you have less of a workload,
>>>> quiter the
>>>> contrary in my experience.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> richard
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ________________________________
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> De : thethinktank-bounces at bikecollectives.org
>>>> [mailto:thethinktank-bounces at bikecollectives.org] De la part de
>>>> rachael
>>>> spiewak
>>>> Envoyé : 20 novembre 2007 09:32
>>>> À : The Think Tank
>>>> Objet : [TheThinkTank] full-timers/directors/project
>>>> coordinators: how'sthe
>>>> job treating you?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> since taking on directing sopo full time, i've come to find that
>>>> this job is
>>>> all kinds of intense. wonderful, but exhausting. i'm
>>>> wondering.. how much
>>>> if it is me and how much of it is this job? is it unique to
>>>> community bike
>>>> shops, or is it like this for other kinds of organizations? or
>>>> is it more
>>>> about the organization being a start-up? for the folks in a
>>>> similar
>>>> position: what's your day like? hanging in there?
>>>>
>>>> thanks!
>>>> rachael
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Thethinktank mailing list
>>>> Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
>>>> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-
>>>> bikecollectives.org
>>>>
>>>>
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