[Ansteorra] The real problem . . . Officers

[Elinor Salter]

Elizabeth Blackthorne wrote:
> I can tell you why I personally didn't want hold an office:
> 1.  I don't like playing politics- I'm not interested in doing good things as a group so that we are "seen", I just want our group to do good things.  I don't care who takes the credit for the good things.  I don't want involved in other groups dynamics and problems.  I don't want my Opinions to be more than what they are.
>   
I'm sorry, milady, but ANY group you become a part of will have its 
share of group politics.  The only way you can avoid group politics is 
to lock yourself in your house and only deal with people one at a time.  
Everyone has their own idea of their Dream, and one of the complications 
of being a part of this society is meshing those ideas together, as best 
we can.  If you don't want credit, give the credit to your group as a 
whole. 
> 2.  There is so much paper-work, and so many silly rules.  Being an officer means that sometimes you have to put a damper on everyone's fun, because it can't be done "legally", or as an officer you have to hunt down the "loop holes" so it can be done legally.
>   
Lest we forget, the SCA is a CORPORATION, subject to the same "silly" 
rules every officer of a corporation is subject to.  Sadly we live in a 
litigious society and we have to be prepared for that, thus ensuring 
that we hold to a pattern of behavior that will allow us to be 
insurable.  With modern lawsuits measured in millions of dollars, one 
lawsuit could easily bring down the SCA.  Real world law holds 
precedence over any rules we make.

Now sometimes rules are outdated, misinterpreted, or badly thought out.  
That's when you step up and start the process to get them changed, if 
they truly need to be.

> 3.  Reporting- I do not EVER want to be Exchequer because this report is a pain.  I know how to do it because as the Seneschal I should, but I NEVER want to have to do it.  Many of the other offices have easy on-line reports now, but even these seem redundant.  Why does every officer have to report the same stuff as the Seneschal?
>   
Coming from a future exchequer, yes there is a bit of a pain to it.  But 
again, WE ARE A CORPORATION.  We are also a non-profit, which makes 
things even more complex in terms of accountability and record-keeping.  
And there have been great (still on-going) improvements to the forms.  
All of our financial records have to stand up to an IRS audit standard, 
so they do need to meet certain criteria.  And why bother with all 
this?  If we were not a non-profit, then we would have less money to 
work with, due to taxes. 

I do have a bit of advantage with my accounting background, but I know 
difficulties could be vastly minimized with education and 
job-shadowing.  Any exchequer stepping down should aim to find a deputy 
at least 6 months before they do (if not earlier).  That gives time for 
that person to attend the wonderful forms and policy classes held by 
Lady Celeste, as well as being able to sit down and do monthly and 
quarterly reports with someone who knows how.  Accounting is logic, not 
numbers.  Once you learn the reason WHY you're putting this number on 
this line and how it makes a difference on this other page, it makes 
sense, and vastly decreases the time needed to figure out why something 
doesn't balance or reason out something that may be more tricky than the 
usual categories.  Teaching someone to blindly plug in numbers does not 
help them in the long run.

To my knowledge, the reason that different offices report the same 
things as the Seneschal is that everyone has different takes on 
everything or could offer more detail and information.  Redundancy is a 
useful safety net, should any negative situations crop up.
> 4.  There are people that I really don't want to have my personal information such as email, street address, and phone number.  Most of these people are mundanes but the fact they they might get a hold of a Blackstar and gain this info is scarry.  Then I have an email that is on our website that any one could get to.  So I use that as my sca only email, if you check out the profile on it, it will say my SCA name as my name with out any other info.  My Blackstar protection though, nothiong can be done.  I just have to trust that those who have it, will not just give it out.
>   
Yes identity theft is a concern, but I would be no less concerned than 
throwing junk mail away.  In this day and age, if someone truly wanted 
my information, they could get it.
> 5.  I personally like being in charge, but for a while, I was too afraid of messing up.  I was really good at doing what is asked of me, but didn't know enough about what needs to be done to do the asking.
>
> I think one of our biggest problems is that in so many of our groups as soon as we get a new member, we have an office for them, or make them deputies.  We don't just give them time to just play.  Once someone actually sees, and is a part of, our dream they will do what it takes to keep it alive.  That includes taking offices.  When we thrust newbies into the politics and offices we either run them off, or make the kind of players that tear apart groups.
>   
No one should force anyone into office.  Some people are more 
service-driven and thrive when put into offices.  Some people don't.  
But I have very rarely seen this within any group I've been in contact 
with.  I fully believe that encouraging new people to work at events - 
feast serving, helping at gate, or waterbearing, is a wonderful way for 
them to meet new people, IF THAT IS SOMETHING THEY WANT TO DO. 
> In my opinion, No One who has been playing less than 2 years should be allowed to hold an office at all.  Someone should also have just attended at least three events before being put in charge of something at an event.  Maybe this way we could keep the newbies we attract.
>   
I can't say that I disagree with your intent, but rather with your broad 
generalization.  I've seen people ready to hold an office in 6 months 
because of how active they become.  There is a vast difference between 
someone who has been in for 6 months, gone to every local event, 
volunteered at every event, attended every meeting they could, and dove 
right into things versus someone who has been in 3 years, only visited 
major events where they didn't have to drive too far, never attended 
local meetings, and never step up in any way.

I'm more worried about a group's prevailing attitude as being a major 
factor in keeping new people active.  When current members have negative 
opinions about offices and responsibility, spend meetings only talking 
about what they don't like, and don't keep regular activities going, 
there's not going to be many newbies with positive opinions.

The major thing I see is inclusiveness.  As a new member of this 
kingdom, it can be very intimidating when coming into a new area where 
everyone all seems to know each other and have a common shared history 
that you do not.  Yes there are some truly wonderful people who have 
welcomed us with arms wide open, but we've also had events where we've 
wandered around trying to figure out where we can put our chairs by the 
list field and not be in anyone's way. 

I challenge every member of this kingdom to take some time and share 
your idea of the Dream someone new to your group - invite them to share 
your list field pavilion or camp with your group, take them fabric 
shopping and show them your secrets to putting gores in a t-tunic, let 
them try out your favorite weapon and tell them why your fighting style 
is your favorite, ask them if they would be interested in helping you 
rack a batch of mead, beg them to help you reduce that stack of charter 
scrolls, or personally invite them to a dancing class.  Being open to 
all in theory is all well and good, but when you're new to a group, some 
people aren't as outgoing as others and need the idea that yes, other 
people in the group care that they're there and want them to participate.
> Faelan Caimbeul <faelancaimbeul at gmail.com> wrote: Why do we have a problem finding officers?
>
> Are people just not interested? If so, why? Are they scared of
> responsibility or failure? Is real life prohibiting them? If we're going to
> solve the problem, we first need to figure out what exactly the problem is. 
>
> Any comments?
>
> Faelan
-- 
Elinor Salter
Barony of the Steppes, Ansteorra