Newsletters: January - February 2008
Board Report - Advances Made at Retreat
Natural Times-January/February 2008
By June Wiaz, Joshua Youngblood, Board Directors
On October 13, the New Leaf Board of Directors (BOD) spent a distractingly gorgeous day at its retreat graciously hosted by Board Vice President Candice Parker at her home near Monticello.
The Board was fortunate to have Marilyn Scholl down from Vermont to facilitate the discussions. Marilyn is a trainer and consultant with Cooperative Development Services. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience with the inner workings of food co-ops nationwide and was an invaluable resource in keeping us focused on the issues slated for discussion at the retreat. Marilyn also presented her analysis of New Leaf Market's expansion and facilitated us towards a long-term perspective on the effects of such a significant change on the health of the Co-op.
The beginning of the day was spent discussing the priorities during and post-expansion; chief among them being the avoidance of staff burnout. Owners surely notice the work in progress, but many may not realize the extent to which the expansion places additional workload on staff, and the less-than-ideal working conditions they are beginning to endure.
The New Leaf Market Board then segued into the vision and strategic planning segment of the day. A big part of this was probing the collective heart of the BOD to bring into focus what the desired outcomes are of New Leaf Market's very existence. Clearly the Co-op's raison d'etre transcends the basic profit motive. Our ends policies demand that we consider other issues such as community wellness and supporting local food infrastructure to the fullest extent possible.
During this discussion, we agreed to do a number of analyses to further explore issues such as how to increase ownership and further contribute to community wellness. Toward the end of the day-still buoyed by a brief mid-morning session of "laugh yoga"-the Board considered whether its own processes and committees are sufficiently effective. We also looked at upcoming board vacancies and kicked around the pros and cons of adjusting the rules governing New Leaf Market board ownership, mainly concluding that the retention of institutional memory was a significant plus in favor of longer terms of service.
In the coming months, outcomes from the October retreat will be coming to fruition. As the ideas generated at the retreat acquire "legs," the Board will continue to share with co-op owners the application of some of the concepts embraced at the retreat. New Leaf Market's policies require the Board set aside some time each year for intensive group work. This Fall's retreat proved to be just as beneficial as past sessions, helping the Board focus on the immediate tasks at hand while tackling the hard, but exciting, work of planning for the Co-op's future.
