Committee Member complaint about another Committee Member

[Guest Susan]

I am over age 40, a professional in my own working capacity and a new non-executive committee member for a small community service club. I have received an undefined complaint via 2 unpalatable angry phone messages and 1 email, from another committee member, stating they are, in exact words of 1 message "absolutely furious" about something [undefined] concerning me which is tabled in the minutes of the last [& my second ever] committee meeting. The "furious" committee member did not attend that meeting.  The email to me only from the same committee member states "they will take further action" if I do not return their 2 phone calls. The 2 phone messages have been digitally recorded and saved, as a record. I have read those minutes many times now and I cannot see anything at all in them that would make any fellow committee member "furious".  I have chosen not to engage in any 1-to-1 conversation with this "furious" committee member and I ask what are the rules, protocols and correct processes applicable to objectively making every committee member aware that this "furious" committee member has a yet-to-be-defined major issue with me and the minutes of the last meeting. I shall be buying a copy of Roberts Rules, however I need some help before I can get the book, read it, understand it & then use it.

[Gary Novosielski]

You won't find anything in there about such a situation. 

 

1. RONR does not even recommend that minutes be kept of committee meetings. 
2. I have no idea what "tabled in the minutes" means. 
3. Minutes, when kept, are a record of what was done, not what was said.  Less to get 'furious' about that way.
4. Those who are (or might be) concerned about, or have "major issues" with what happens at meetings are encouraged to show up.

If you want people to know about the phone calls, well, tell 'em.  No rule in RONR would prevent it.  And no rule will prevent people from having major issues with stuff that happens when they're not around.  If they don't like it they can move to rescind the motion they have issues with; if 2/3 agree, they win.  Or if their pet motion did not pass, they can move it again.  But they will need to show up.

 

Votes count.  Furious phone calls do not. 

[Guest Susan]

Thanks so much for your help - by "Tabled in the minutes " I mean ... the minutes of the meeting were typed-up and circulated by email to all committee members the day after the meeting .

[jstackpo]

What a GREAT secretary that committee has!!! The next day! Wow!  Be nice to her/him.  Although, as implied above, he/she may be writing too much of "what was said" when he should confine his documentation to what was done, exclusively.  So the nicest thing you can do is tell him not to work so hard.

 

Even though, as noted, committees usually do not keep minutes.  Their main product is a report (or a series of reports, depending on the responsibilities of the committee) to its parent body.

[jstackpo]

Oh, and start your parliamentary self-teaching career with   RONRIB:

"Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief", Updated Second Edition (Da Capo Press, Perseus Books Group, 2011). It is a splendid summary of all the rules you will really need in all but the most exceptional situations. And only $7.50! You can read it in an evening. Get both RONRIB and RONR (scroll down) at this link. Or in your local bookstore.

[Gary Novosielski]

Thanks so much for your help - by "Tabled in the minutes " I mean ... the minutes of the meeting were typed-up and circulated by email to all committee members the day after the meeting .

Ah.  Canadian, maybe?

[Guest Nnacy N.]

Susan, if you have made the acquaintance of any of the committee members, I suggest you talk to some of them, to find out what the irate and steaming and furious people are worked up about.  It might even be productive to see if they would not be civil on the telephone (or over a cup at a bistro). 

 

Even if it won't clear the air or calm the waters, a few contacts might help line up amenable committee members who may come to your defence at a meeting if those other people still feel they have something to be upset about.

 

(This is not in Robert's Rules.)

 

Oh, and Susan -- or anyone else who knows:  how do you digitally record and save a phone message?  I have been trying to find out for some time now (nobody I've asked seems to know where to start).

[Timothy]

While RONR deals with the issue of how to handle disciplinary action, it does not specifically explain how to handle a situation like this. It leaves it to the organization to define what is considered inappropriate and what steps must be taken if someone believes a member has acted inappropriately.

 

That being said, I have some suggestions. First, it is never a good idea to involve other people in conflicts if you can avoid it. While our first instinct may be to tell someone else about what the person who is upset with us is doing, bringing someone else into it makes it much harder to resolve the situation. It is better to go to that person and discuss the situation before telling anyone else about it. It may be that the person who is furious has made some wrong assumptions about what you said or did. If it remains between this person and you, the other person can change his view without loss of face with the other people. But when other people are involved, the person will become defensive. Second, only after talking to the person and not being able to resolved the issue should anyone else be brought in. If that must happen, limit it to one or two people who are also members of the committee. Don't select people who you know will side with you, but ask them to take an objective view of the situation. They may agree with you, but they might notice something that indicates that you have the wrong view instead of the other person. Third, if the situation can't be resolved with one or two people, then it is time to take it before the larger group. 

[Guest Nancy N.]

(Somebody else, please get up.)

 

...

[Dan Honemann]

I am over age 40, a professional in my own working capacity and a new non-executive committee member for a small community service club. I have received an undefined complaint via 2 unpalatable angry phone messages and 1 email, from another committee member, stating they are, in exact words of 1 message "absolutely furious" about something [undefined] concerning me which is tabled in the minutes of the last [& my second ever] committee meeting. The "furious" committee member did not attend that meeting.  The email to me only from the same committee member states "they will take further action" if I do not return their 2 phone calls. The 2 phone messages have been digitally recorded and saved, as a record. I have read those minutes many times now and I cannot see anything at all in them that would make any fellow committee member "furious".  I have chosen not to engage in any 1-to-1 conversation with this "furious" committee member and I ask what are the rules, protocols and correct processes applicable to objectively making every committee member aware that this "furious" committee member has a yet-to-be-defined major issue with me and the minutes of the last meeting. I shall be buying a copy of Roberts Rules, however I need some help before I can get the book, read it, understand it & then use it.

 

It is gratifying to learn that you will be buying a copy of Robert's Rules, but I'm afraid you will find that it fails to contain rules, protocols and correct processes applicable to objectively making every committee member aware that this "furious" committee member has a yet-to-be-defined major issue with you and the minutes of the last meeting.

 

Perhaps the next edition will be better.

[Timothy]

Perhaps the next edition will be better.

 

I'm not sure that would be an improvement.