[Businessmtg] service positions

[Steve Rankin]

Hi Ren,

It seems that we might be talking as cross purposes.  

When I look at a situation - any situation - from an Al-Anon perspective,
what I am doing is considering how our Al-Anon Legacies apply to the
questions I'm facing.
12 Steps - I consider the 12 Steps when I'm looking at my working my
program.
12 Traditions - I consider the 12 Traditions when I am looking at something
at my relationship with others.
12 Concepts of Service - I consider the 12 Concepts of Service when I am
looking the relationships of trusted servants with each other and with the
group as a whole.

Additionally, I'll look at our Service Manual to see how the fellowship has
interpreted the Steps, Traditions and Concepts of Service in actual
application.

In this case, we are looking at service positions, so I expect to find the
answers in the Twelve Concepts of Service.  When I look at the Concepts
regarding this issue, the following Concepts speak to me in some way about
it.

2.	The Al-Anon Family Groups have delegated complete administrative and
operational authority to their Conference and its service arms.
SR: The Steering Committee is the service arm of ASP that ASP members grant
"complete administrative and operational authority to".
3.	The right of decision makes effective leadership possible.
SR: Each trusted servant of ASP must have the right of decision within their
job to be an effective leader.
4.	Participation is the key to harmony.
SR: Trusted servants must participate in both their jobs and in our
discussions if we expect to have harmony.
6.	The Conference acknowledges the primary administrative
responsibility of the Trustees.
SR:  The Steering Committee is the Board of Directors at ASP - the Trustees,
and the members acknowledge the Steering Committee's administrative
responsibility.
7.	The Trustees have legal rights while the rights of the Conference
are traditional.
SR:  The members of ASP have traditional rights - namely the right to make
group consciences on policy issue.  However, the Steering Committee has
legal rights, which give the Steering Committee the right to make legal
decisions that may not align perfectly with the group's traditional
decisions.
8.	The Board of Trustees delegates full authority for routine
management of Al-Anon Headquarters to its executive committees.
Steve:  Previous Concepts have referred to responsibility.  Concept 8 refers
to the authority that is commensurate with responsibility. 
9.	Good personal leadership at all service levels is a necessity. In
the field of world service the Board of Trustees assumes the primary
leadership.
Steve:  Many members of Al-Anon believe that there are no leaders in
Al-Anon.  Concept 9 clears this up by noting the leadership at all levels is
necessary.  
10.	Service responsibility is balanced by carefully defined service
authority and double-headed management is avoided.
Steve:  Concept 10 makes the final connection between responsibility and
authority.  

My take is that Concept 3 and Concept 10 summarize what we need to know
here.

Let's say that Susie Q. is elected as our Refreshment Chair.  Once she is
elected Refreshment Chair, and her term has started, she is THE Refreshment
Chair.  She has the complete responsibility of the Refreshment Chair as well
as the full authority to make the decisions necessary to fulfill her
responsibility.  

The previous Refreshment Chair rotates out and is no longer the Refreshment
Chair, and as a result no longer has any responsibility or authority.
That's not to say that the previous Refreshment Chair is unwilling to help
Susie Q. in her new position by answering questions, explaining how she did
the job, etc.  However, the previous Refreshment Chair has no obligation to
continue serving any facet of the Refreshment Chair position.  

And who sits on the Steering Committee?  The senior member or the junior
member?  Who has the vote?  How do you reconcile this with ASP's Founding
Policies?  

Now, let's look at the pragmatic side of what actually happens when groups
try to "share" service positions.

First, we need to understand that if we try to have shared service
positions, we will need to have more members serve.  If our plan is to have
a senior member serve alongside a junior member, then we will need two
members to serve that shared position.  

Do they serve concurrent terms?  
If they disagree on something, who has the authority to make the final
decision?  Assuming that is the senior member, then by definition the junior
member is not allowed the right of decision granted by Concept 3.

What happens at rotation?  
My personal experience with "shared trusted servants" in face-to-face
meetings is that when it is time to rotate both/all trusted servants expect
to rotate OUT at the same time.  Remember, that the stated objective of
shared service was to make it easier to serve - when we modify the position
to make it easier to serve, we are more likely to attract members who are
looking for "easy" and as a result, "easy" means out when the term of
service is over.  
Which, means that we need to have twice (or more) times as many to serve as
when we had just one member serve.
Again, what I have seen occur twice in face-to-face meetings, is that
several members rotated OUT at once, and no one was willing to step up and
serve, so both meetings crashed and burned.  

Elections?  Are both positions actually elected?  How would we elect a
shared trusted servant position?  Either we would elect them simultaneously,
or sequentially.  
If simultaneously, then we would need to find two people willing to serve at
the same time, and they would need to qualify for the senior/junior
experience levels as proposed, in addition to the current requirements.  If
we had only one available, then what?  What if that person says they are
available ONLY IF a senior position steps up so that the junior member
doesn't bear the weight of the position?
If sequentially, what happens when one is available and another doesn't step
up?  What if Member A is elected, then Member B, but they don't like each
other and don't work well with each other?  

In summary, there are several of our Concepts that would be difficult, if
not impossible to follow the Concepts of Service with two members holding
the same position.  It also follows that we would need even more people to
serve than we currently require.  The end result is actually an increase in
the number of trusted servants leaving the pool of people qualified and
available.  And the whole process becomes complicated.

Hugs,
Steve