Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: selection of leadership (was Borda)

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

The group with the most power here is our Steering Committee. As a group of 
5, it is essential that it be more than the 5 most popular choices. So Borda 
wouldn't do it. 

Balance and personal chemistry are also very important. We choose a 
Nominating Committee (about 3 people we trust to be diligent and neutral) 
and they personally, privately, poll everyone in the membership, for 
Steering positions, as well as Officers: 

Are you available to serve as any of these?
Who else would you especially like to see serving in these roles? 

Availability narrows the field fast. Already ineligible are spouses of 
continuing Steering members, and those who have done the demanding job 
recently are often not ready again yet. Or those who already have major 
other responsibilities in the community. Fairly typically we might have a 
Secretary and Treasurer who are willing to continue, and nobody else who 
wants their job. But finding Steering members can be hard. 

People put out conditions too. I'll be on Steering as long as X is not also 
on it. Or "if you can't find anyone else." 

As often as not, the slate pretty much forms itself, based on the above, 
plus a general sense of balance. Once Nominating has a slate, it is 
publicized, and at our business meeting we need consensus to affirm it.
We've been through this for quite a few years and have never failed to get 
the slots filled satisfactorily. 

But a "Borda" sounds better suited for coming up with a City Council than a 
RoseWind team. 

Lynn Nadeau at RoseWind