President’s Notebook
APEGA
governance and operations. It is freeing its time and energy for what Councillors are elected to do: advise the CEO and a handful of Council committees, and develop clear and relevant strategies. Before this began, we had 11 committees reporting to Council. On the surface, that might seem like a good thing. If there are a lot of committees, a lot must be getting done. Right? Well, yes and no. Certainly, the committees were all about great work being carried out by dedicated APEGA volun- teers. The problems lay in the reporting structure and the
clarity of roles. Most of those committees had earlier made their strategic recommendations to Council, which Council had accepted, tweaked, or changed. Then these committees started doing the work Council had empowered them to do. From that point forward, the committees became cumbersome. They were reporting to Council, yet they were doing operational work that is ultimately the responsibility of the CEO. The difference between strategy and operations was unclear. The connection between committee work and staff work was unclear. Lines of authority were unclear. We now have just four Council committees, and they have clear Council roles. The committees that did not need to report to Council have now been changed into groups that report, through staff, to the CEO. Whenever necessary, Council creates a task force in a spe- cific area to advise it and come up with strategic recommendations. Once recommendations are accepted by Council, the task force is disbanded. If the CEO needs a group of volunteers to help turn a direction into operations, it’s the CEO’s responsibility to create one. Another key element is the change in the way we gather nomi- nations for Council. The new system is an example of how strategy becomes action, helping make Council stronger and more effective in the years to come. Council wanted to ensure that for each election, diverse and experienced nominees run for Council. Also needed was a way to make sure strategic needs — which can change from year to year — are represented on the list of candidates. So Council directed one of the four committees, the Nominating Committee, to come back with recommendations that would transform the nominating process. The resulting proposed bylaw changes were approved by Council and then by Members attending the most recent Annual General Meeting. What‘s different is that Council has identified, for the Nomi- nating Committee, the top seven Councillor attributes and top Council needs. This information is now available for all Members, helping them decide whether to self-nominate. So, if you are interested in self-nominating for the next Council, you have until October 19 to complete the requirements in the Member Self-Service Centre. To read more about the new system, check out the summer PEG — the full digital edition appears online at apega.ca. I have confidence in the new nomination system, which I think bodes well for Council and APEGA’s future — and future success.
Questions or comments? president@apega.ca
FALL 2015 PEG | 5
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