IHRIM Board Chair

Welcome to the first blog of the IHRIM Board Chair. My intention in doing this is to share with you the goings on of the “Chief Volunteer Officer” of IHRIM who happens to also be a practitioner in the HR and Technology space. On my mind right now is preparation for the IHRIM Board Meeting.

This is my first meeting as Board Chair, and along with the excitement of it all is the anxiety in making sure I am prepared. I am responsible for working with Lynne Mealy to set the agenda. Lynne sends the Board all materials before the meeting so that we have ample time to read through the contents and be prepared to discuss issues that are on our minds. While not too time consuming, it does require a few hours of focused time to digest it all and gather ones thoughts.

As this is a volunteer position and I try not to do IHRIM work on my employer’s time it means that my personal time is used and that impacts time with my family and friends. Fortunately it really is no more than a couple of hours of preparation and I have a very understanding husband.

This being the first Board Meeting of the year, our topics revolve around goals and objectives for the upcoming year. We have a lot to accomplish this year and it is my job to make sure that everyone understands their role and what is required of them for IHRIM to be successful. Once the Board has aligned on our goals I will share them with the other IHRIM leaders.

On the agenda is the Chair’s welcome and opening address. Since this is my first meeting as Chair, I want to take some time to express my expectations of the Board, what they can expect from me and talk a little about my management style. It took longer for me to put together my opening comments than to read and review the Board material, as starting out my term of office on the right path is very important to me. I went through about 5 different drafts until I felt good about what I was saying.

Last, but certainly not least is making sure my home is stocked with easy to prepare foods so my husband does not eat only pizza and potato chips while I am gone. This also eases the bit of guilt I feel for leaving home for a weekend. Did I mention that the Board meets on weekends?

Even though I feel prepared, I am still nervous. This is a huge responsibility I am undertaking and want to make sure I do it right.

I will write soon to let you know how it went.
Thanks for taking the time to “hear” what is on my mind.