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Board No Longer
As some of you know, I joined my shul's board of directors this year. I got the post first by running for the job, and then by being first runner-up in the election. See, I lost, but when someone left the board unexpectedly, I was in line to finish out his term.
I attended about six meetings in this capacity. It was not fun work. We debated the shul budget; the future of the house the shul owns (with hopes of using it to expand our facilities someday); the tenant in the house who lost his job and couldn't pay rent; the rabbi's salary; and general issues about the future of a small centrist Orthodox shul in a neighborhood drifting fast to the right. We were also the first to learn that our rabbi has decided to seek another pulpit, as he feels (with much justification) that it's time for a new challenge. (I had to keep this a secret for several weeks.) The meetings were long, and often on nights when I had better things to do.
But I felt that I was starting to get the hang of it. So with my temproary term as a board member done, I put my name in nomination, again. Like last year, I wasn't sure that I wanted to win. Or so I thought.
See, I didn't win. To my shock, I lost not only to a longtime member who everyone knows well but also to a new member, in the shul less than a year. (Two board members are elected a year, for three-year terms, in rotation.) I was convinced that he had no chance of winning so soon, that I had a really good chance of winning. And to my surprise, it really hurt that I lost.
My first thought was that all the work I had done for the shul, as a member of the kiddush committee and as the shul's ad hoc press officer, was going unnoticed. My second thought was that I simply just don't make myself known in the shul, whereas this new member clearly did. FWIW, a new member won last year as well, and has been a huge asset to the shul, so it's not like I don't think the new member is qualified. I just thought that I had earned my place on the board.
It's funny. I ran for the board initially out of a sense of responsibility. I was not too unhappy that I lost last year. But in the year since then, I think I've started to take pride in what I do for the shul. And I certainly started to feel like people noticed how often I was down in the kitchen with the rest of the committee, especially since we ran the show for two full meals.
But obviously, I didn't stand out. I guess my belief that good work speaks for itself doesn't help if you are modest and also not the more likely to schmooze at the kiddush.
So my time on the board is over. And I am not going to run again any time soon. Clearly, I am not the right kind of person to run for even this minor elective office.
Which doesn't mean I won't keep working for the shul. But I won't expect my work - or the very hard work of my friends on the kiddush committe - to be noticed.
I attended about six meetings in this capacity. It was not fun work. We debated the shul budget; the future of the house the shul owns (with hopes of using it to expand our facilities someday); the tenant in the house who lost his job and couldn't pay rent; the rabbi's salary; and general issues about the future of a small centrist Orthodox shul in a neighborhood drifting fast to the right. We were also the first to learn that our rabbi has decided to seek another pulpit, as he feels (with much justification) that it's time for a new challenge. (I had to keep this a secret for several weeks.) The meetings were long, and often on nights when I had better things to do.
But I felt that I was starting to get the hang of it. So with my temproary term as a board member done, I put my name in nomination, again. Like last year, I wasn't sure that I wanted to win. Or so I thought.
See, I didn't win. To my shock, I lost not only to a longtime member who everyone knows well but also to a new member, in the shul less than a year. (Two board members are elected a year, for three-year terms, in rotation.) I was convinced that he had no chance of winning so soon, that I had a really good chance of winning. And to my surprise, it really hurt that I lost.
My first thought was that all the work I had done for the shul, as a member of the kiddush committee and as the shul's ad hoc press officer, was going unnoticed. My second thought was that I simply just don't make myself known in the shul, whereas this new member clearly did. FWIW, a new member won last year as well, and has been a huge asset to the shul, so it's not like I don't think the new member is qualified. I just thought that I had earned my place on the board.
It's funny. I ran for the board initially out of a sense of responsibility. I was not too unhappy that I lost last year. But in the year since then, I think I've started to take pride in what I do for the shul. And I certainly started to feel like people noticed how often I was down in the kitchen with the rest of the committee, especially since we ran the show for two full meals.
But obviously, I didn't stand out. I guess my belief that good work speaks for itself doesn't help if you are modest and also not the more likely to schmooze at the kiddush.
So my time on the board is over. And I am not going to run again any time soon. Clearly, I am not the right kind of person to run for even this minor elective office.
Which doesn't mean I won't keep working for the shul. But I won't expect my work - or the very hard work of my friends on the kiddush committe - to be noticed.
no subject
Sadly, good work often doesn't speak for itself. People often don't notice what isn't drawn to their attention, and good work that isn't broken is by definition not doing so. Especially if they haven't done the work themselves and don't know what's involved.
Or maybe people vote for the schmoozers because they figure what they need in a board member is an outgoing fundraiser, or a social representative of the temple, as opposed to someone who is most comfortable working behind the scenes. It doesn't necessarily mean they don't value your contributions.
Still, I know that doesn't help, and I'm sorry.
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Being both a politician and a shmoozer, I can tell you that, as sad as it is, if no one sees your contribution, it's as good as if it didn't happen. That's why politicians routinely mail out flyers telling their constituents what they worked on in the past year.
Shul politics are often the worst on many levels. It sounds like people might have soon you as a good caretaker but not necessarily anything beyond that.
At least you now have a very good excuse if they ever tap you to run again. You did your time on the Board, and there's no reason for you to do it again unless you really want to.
no subject
I certainly have no intent of letting anyone appoint me again if a vacancy opens. I don't want to be Gerald Ford.
But since the new officers are usually picked by the outgoing officers - there has never been a single contested officer position in my years at the shul - I might be approached for that. They often pick people who while competent are either not people persons or not sure about the job and defer to former officers. But I wouldn't accpet that in any case. Too much work.
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So come election night, there is a single slate of candidates. We almost had a real race for corresponding secretary, but the newbie dropped out before the vote.
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I'm sure there are other things to do around the shul. As for the election, yeah, like stakebait said. Good work itself is not always noticed; and sometimes what they need is a shmoozer. But I have a really high opinion of those who Get It Done behind the scenes. Both types are necessary to make stuff happen.
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You have, my friend, been blessed 9although it may not feel that way right now). You can still do the work for the shul and help the congregation grow and avoid the poisonous politics of it.
no subject