The MFS Needs You on 11 September

The MFS AGM is approaching and with it your chance to really make a difference.

This is a wonderful opportunity for you to step forward and help see the society through another year. It's not onerous, and I reckon most things can be taken care of electronically these days. But, it needs you to make it thrive, not just survive.

I am a fairly tolerant sort of bloke but I am afraid that the current MFS executive is beyond the pale, and we are going to have to kick this mob out. And that is not the royal "we" - this means you.

MFS executive have been unable to provide me with an insurance certificate to replace the one that expired over a month ago, they have messed up my use of MFS Announce, they have been unable to provide copies of their minutes (if there are any), they have tried to interfere in other people's business while neglecting their own responsibilities, and the society is in obvious decline. 

The Bush Dancers display group is affected and the current executive have shown a reckless indifference to the damage - no insurance certificate means our final performance is at risk. And there is no way that we will be organising grand reunion performances under the morass that the MFS has become.

But enough negativity, we need positivity and that means a new team at the top. We need an MFS Committee that can delegate and empower lots of members to do lots of folkie things. We need whole-of-society promotion and legal governance. We need helpful support not interference in our jobs, and openness and transparency at all levels.

It's not hard to provide good decisions at the top, in fact it's easier than making bad decisions. The main thing is to recruit and retain volunteers.

Anyone who is sound and sensible could do it, and it should not take much time. The insurance for example requires simply asking someone to organise annual renewal and distribute a copy of the insurance certificate and conditions to those who need it, and asking them to report that all is well. It wasn't a drama, it needn't be a drama, and it won't be a drama after this AGM, if you do your bit.

So, why not stand, and come along to the AGM, and ask others to stand as well. You never know who might surprise you with a "yes" until you ask.

Cheers

Lance

The Insurance Certificate Drama

The insurance expired a month ago and we still don't have a copy of the certificate. Not sure what this means for our second last performance, but our final performance is after the MFS AGM. So, if you know folk who would be capable of organising annual renewal of our insurance, distribution of a copy of the insurance certificate to those who need it, and a few other straightforward matters, why not ask them if you can nominate them for the AGM?

You never know who might surprise you with a "yes" until you ask.

How to nominate is at:
http://mfs.org.au/wiki/index.php?title=Notice_of_MFS_Annual_General_Meeting#Nomination_of_Candidates

The current executive are not very good at communicating notices of meetings, but the "Nomination of Candidates" section in the above page is still correct.

Regards
Lance

Heads Up - the AGM is Coming

I am a fairly tolerant sort of bloke but I am afraid that the current MFS executive is beyond the pale, and we are going to have to kick this mob out.

MFS executive have been unable to provide me with an insurance certificate, they have messed up my use of MFS Announce, they have been unable to provide copies of their minutes (if there are any), and they have tried to interfere in other people's business while neglecting their own responsibilities.

The society is in decline and we need a new team at the top. We need an MFS Committee that can delegate and empower lots of members to do lots of folkie things. We need whole-of-society promotion and legal governance. We need helpful support not interference in our jobs, and openness and transparency at all levels.

It's not hard to provide good decisions at the top, in fact it's easier than making bad decisions. The main thing is to recruit and retain volunteers.

Anyone who is sound and sensible could do it, and it should not take much time.

So, why not stand? It could be you and your colleagues that can turn the society around. There's a lot of members out there ready to respond to friendly leadership.

Cheers

Lance 

Autonomy

From an email in response to my last blog item: "You seem to want considerable autonomy from the MFS committee but you want them to provide the BDDG with insurance". As always, for every person that takes the trouble to write, there are probably a dozen who think similarly but don't write, so I appreciate the email and the chance to respond. Your comments are also welcome, just click the "comments" link below.

I don't keep on going on about autonomy because I want to be separate from the MFS.  I am mounting a totally open, legitimate and important debate about the matter because good management with proper delegation of responsibility will lead to expansion and growth, and bad management ("micro-management") will stifle that expansion and growth, even put it into reverse. 

We live in a democracy and we have freedom of expression of such opinions. And I have seen no evidence that the insurance policy requires bad management. However the MFS Committee can choose to subject the members to time wasting management practices, and the only remedy for members is to vote in a different committee next time. Or, unfortunately more likely, vote with their feet.

No-one has time to waste waiting for "authorisation" of their legitimately made decisions. If I am negotiating to perform at Government House, I am going to close the deal, not tell them that my "head office" have to sign off before I am allowed to do that. It's not a policy decision, it is routine business and needs to be simply covered by our group's delegation to run that business, with proper reporting after the event. Same as the Government House side are empowered to book whatever acts they can secure, on the spot, if their organisation is well managed.

But delegation is not neglect. MFS Committee needs to exercise responsible oversight of the affairs of the society as a whole. MFS has statutory requirements that all financial transactions of the society are included in society reporting and able to be audited, and assets belonging to the society are listed in the annual financial statements.  MFS Committee remains responsible for all outcomes and needs to take "supervisory" action where needed - staffing, mentoring, counselling, training, or requesting information.

MFS Organisers are accountable for their decisions and should be keeping MFS Committee fully informed of results and issues, etc. We need a budget process that authorises event organisers well before they have to start selecting and negotiating with venues and bands and the myriad other things they have to organise, and we need regular reporting by event organisers to MFS Committee.

Once having delegated an activity, the appropriate way for MFS Committee to ensure that it is carried out satisfactorily is by reporting and review, not by direct action. That's particularly so in an organisation of co-operating but autonomous volunteers like our own.

Cheers

Lance

Insurance of Activities Run by MFS Event Organisers

I am a primary contact for The Bush Dancers display group, an activity of the MFS. We value our autonomy and cultural ownership of our own activity. We promote bush dancing based on collected Australian music and dance, and reckon we do a pretty good job of it. Have a look at http://canberradance.org/tbdeventpics.htm for a bit of an idea of what we do.

I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories, but I am very concerned that MFS Committee have failed to disclose what our insurance coverage is, and have kept their meetings, agendas and minutes a closely guarded secret. What are they hiding? I have just written reminding MFS Committee of my emails dated 9 April, 9 May, and 13 October requesting the public liability insurance conditions. I have not yet received the requested documents. It is now two months since the AGM and there has been no consultation with members on matters to be discussed by the committee, nor any notification of agendas etc.

I am worried about the decline in MFS member numbers and in member commitment to the MFS, and, based on various statements, I am concerned that our insurance may not be suitable for a decentralised conglomerate like the MFS. 

We don't want the MFS to end up like a knitting circle or something similar, small enough for the  MFS Committee to micro-manage everything. The MFS is a free association of autonomous activities and that means MFS Committee have to delegate responsibility to well-defined organising teams, and hold them accountable for results. If you can't delegate you can't manage.

The good news is that proper division of responsibilities and business-like relations are easier for all concerned. No second-guessing, no impasses, everyone taking care of their own business to achieve the results they want. The MFS Committee needs to take a strategic leadership role, consider reports, make important decisions that affect the whole society, and attend to their own details like insurance and consolidated accounts.

Obviously an organisation of delegated managers is insurable. No-one would expect the Board of Woolworths to tell the meat manager when to put out more chops, or tell the baker how many rolls to bake. They tried centralised planning like that in Russia and it was never going to work. There are many layers of delegation of responsibility in any successful organisation. Decisions are made and implemented at the right level to achieve the right results.

The question is, how can MFS event organisers achieve insurance of their activities under their own existing good management, if the policy taken out by MFS Committee is unsuitable? And how can we find out whether it is or not?

I would love to hear your comments, either by email or right here.

Cheers

Lance

Now Is The Time

I have received an email saying "When you did hold office you did not represent the whole society. Your focus is dance and that is what you concentrated on not the MFS as a whole". 

For every person that takes the trouble to write, there are probably a dozen who think similarly but don't write, so I appreciate the email and the chance to respond. Your comments are also welcome, just click the "comments" link below. 

The writer has a long memory, that was years ago, and different recollections to me, or has been misinformed.

The fact is that I think the last thing the MFS committee should be doing is running dances, and for the two years I was on that committee I stood aside from all other organising teams and did not involve myself in their decisions. The MFS Committee achieved great improvements in dance, by delegating and empowering others, but MFS Committee focus was the MFS as a whole. Results through people.

- We behaved ethically and openly. We consulted with stakeholders before making decisions that would affect them, and invited those particularly interested in an item along to our meetings. We advised members of our decisions along with reasons, and made our meeting agendas and minutes freely available to members.

- The public web site was totally re-developed and a collaborative Web Content Management system implemented.  That means each organising team can instantly update their own publicity, because they are best placed to do that.

- The members' web site was created

- Simple reporting and accountability standards enabled us to responsibly share leadership through pre-approved budgets, delegation and empowerment. All organising teams were encouraged to promote and run their own activities.

- Improved financial management reporting on all activities of the society, including assets, was one area that was going to take more than two years, but tremendous strides were made.

- We established a PayPal account making possible secure on-line payments.

- MFS Committee meetings were business-like two hour meetings with equal air-time for all, in a professional board-room setting with proper voting and majority decisions

- We filled all positions, with no-one wearing two hats.

- We made a start on publishing "Roles & Responsibilities" for each volunteer position.

I rest my case.

We are not running a knitting circle where the committee could micro-manage everything. The MFS is a free association of autonomous activities and that means MFS Committee have to delegate responsibility to well-defined organising teams, and hold them accountable for results. If you can't delegate you can't manage.

The good news is that proper division of responsibilities and business-like relations are easier for all concerned. No second-guessing, no impasses, everyone taking care of their own business to achieve the results they want. The MFS Committee needs to take a strategic leadership role, consider reports, make important decisions that affect the whole society, and attend to their own details like insurance and consolidated accounts.

If you warm to these ideas, why not step forward? Don't wait till the society folds due to lack of interest, do it now!

Cheers
Lance

MFS AGM Thursday, 26 September 2013

I understand from an email that the Monaro Folk Society Annual General Meeting is on Thursday, 26 September 2013, 7pm, at St Margaret's in Hackett.

There is no mention of the AGM in the MFS main page "latest news", and it is not in the MFS Google Calendar, and the date has been moved back this year to a date when we and many others will be away at the well-publicised Bush Dancers Bendigo Bivouac, but I am sure that all on the committee are there for altruistic reasons and would warmly welcome all members to attend the AGM.

For all MFS members, the most important business of the AGM is to elect your new committee.

The MFS Committee is the top policy and strategy committee of the society. If you have a commitment to ethics, truth and honesty and wish to build the society through shared experiences and positive outcomes then this is the place for you.

We need a committee that is flexible and fair in all dealings and interactions, and that will actively pursue a dramatic increase in public awareness of and participation in the Monaro Folk Society.

The MFS Committee needs to be run in a thoroughly open, transparent and democratic way, with an impartial chair, speakers for and against, and voting. It is responsible for a large decentralised enterprise and needs to follow standard and simple legal decision making practices.

A strong field of candidates is a healthy sign and sincerely welcomed by all.

New blood means fresh ideas and renewed vigour for the Monaro Folk Society, so what is stopping you from nominating at the AGM? You don't need previous experience, just an interest in helping the society and an ability to learn as you go. As well as being satisfying and fun, committee members and office-bearers can learn a tremendous amount about running a successful organisation and about all aspects of folk music, dance and culture.

Whether or not you feel moved to lend a hand on the committee, another small but rewarding contribution that you can make is simply to attend the AGM on Thursday, 26 September 2013, 7pm, at St Margaret's in Hackett. See for yourself how the MFS is travelling, and appoint your new committee.

Regards

Lance