The next six months…

Article contributed by Tony Allwood.

As members of my chapter (and BNI HQ) know, I am about to take over as the President of our chapter. It is quite interesting that when I wrote my book last year I dedicated a couple of chapters to being ‘El President’. Over the years as a member and as a visitor to many BNI’s I have seen so many different styles and ways of conducting the role, that I am actually a little apprehensive.

I think possibly all other members who are just about to take on roles in the leadership team might have similar feelings. I am not scared and I hope I don’t sound too arrogant when I say I know that I am going to do a good job, but like an actor standing in the wings, or a tourist at the top of a bungee jumping tower, I have a (not sure what the collective noun is) whole heap of butterflies in my stomach. I know that they will disappear about a second after I stand up and say ‘Good morning and welcome to BNI Waikato metro, the best BNI chapter in the world’, but as I site here typing….

Anyway, I enough about me. Below is a chapter of the book that is aimed at getting members to think about the stress and isolation that being the president can give, so be gentle with your ex presidents, be gentle with your new presidents and I hope the transition of leadership teams goes smoothly for you all.

Be The President
I have heard various descriptions used to explain the role of President in a Chapter. Some say it is like being a Ringmaster of a circus, some say it is an easy job with no real responsibility as the Vice President and the Committee do all the administration work. There seems to be a delusion that all the President does is stand up, read from the agenda, and act just like an MC in a nightclub. If that is how you ‘play’ your role as President then if you are lucky you will make it to the end of your six months with your Chapter intact, but it is unlikely to be a great six months for anyone.

As the President you are responsible for everything. BNI® may claim that the Vice President is responsible for coordinating the ‘administration’ of the Chapter but, if you tried to run your Company in isolation without being fully involved with the board of directors, then you would be headed for trouble. If over your tenure the Chapter increases in size and effectiveness, it is the result of every members efforts. If it contracts or becomes less efficient, it is your fault. Glory is shared, failure is yours to own. Sorry to be blunt about it but I don’t want anyone thinking, (or being told) that the role of the President is easy, it isn’t.

As President you are Ringmaster of a Circus, where everyone is the star. You have to be the ultimate host to visitors. You must portray confidence and seem relaxed, whilst all the time, battling to keep on time and keep the meeting rolling. The best analogy I can think of, from my time as President, is that it is like being both the Stage Manager AND Principal Actor in a play. You have to give a wonderful performance, inspiring others in the BNI® way, and at the same time you need to be watching that the coffee doesn’t run out, and that visitors are being engaged in the meeting. It truly is a double edged sword. To help you understand the role of President, the following are the bad and good parts about the role. I don’t know about you but I always prefer the bad news first.

Bad:
Over your time as President you will become detached from the meeting and the membership as you are trying to juggle the needs of 30 or so people at once, and cannot be ‘in the moment’. Your knowledge of BNI® will be tested almost every day as if by some magical spell you have all the knowledge in the universe in your head. …. For this chapter in full please visit www.beyondthecomfortzone.net.

p.s. I have just ‘googled’ it and a collective noun for butterflies is either a rabble, a flight, or a flutter. I think that a flutter seems quite apt as it describes my feeling exactly.