Are You “Called?”—Why YOU May Be An Ideal Society Leader!
The Barbershop Harmony Society’s future depends on thoughtful, capable individuals who are willing to share their time and talent as leaders. While this is true at the Chapter and District levels, it is particularly true at the level of Society leadership, where policies are shaped to preserve the artform we practice and grow our organization’s visibility in and contributions to the “choral ecosystem” in North America.
Having been previously called the “Nominating Committee,” it has been historically perceived that the Society Leadership Development Committee’s job is limited in scope, focusing almost exclusively on soliciting “qualified” individuals in a limited time window for their potential inclusion on a small slate to be considered for election to the Society Board each year. While the Committee has served its purpose faithfully over decades and has contributed to the good of BHS, that perception—limited opportunity paired with insufficient information about or lack of awareness of who might be “qualified”—has resulted in a relatively small pool of prospective leaders to be considered for service, now and in the future.
Today’s mission of the Leadership Development Committee is broad, open and welcoming: to identify, encourage, and mentor as large a group of individuals as possible to engage them in service as leaders at the Society level. This goes far beyond the limited assignment of preparing an election slate each year. It means the Committee seeks to engage with all those who might be willing to serve, to determine how your desire to help our Society flourish and grow might be fulfilled.
The challenge we’re accepting is making the process accessible and attractive to all members of the community. This especially applies to people who previously might never have considered themselves “qualified” for a leadership role, whether from demographics (age, gender, heritage) previous barbershop experience, or simple lack of connections throughout the barbershop world. For our Board to reflect who we are and who we wish to become, we are intentionally reaching out to be more transparent and welcoming in building the Board that will build our future.
How New Leaders Can Participate
Our Society’s leadership structure is designed to be open for a wide range of individuals’ talents. It has two fundamental components:
The Board’s role is that of governance; being responsible for overall policy and strategic planning that strengthen our organization and lead it to growth and prosperity. It is charged to work toward fulfillment of the Society’s Mission, “to bring people together in harmony and fellowship to enrich lives through singing,” and its Strategic Vision, “Everyone in Harmony.” In addition to the Board itself, there are committees of volunteer leaders whose work contributes to the success of the Board’s work.
Execution of the policies and plans established by the Board is the role of Staff, known as “Harmony Hall,” under the leadership of our CEO/Executive Director. This is termed the operations component of our leadership structure.
The needs the Committee seeks to fill cover both of these structural roles. While the nomination of Board officers and members-at-large are a direct Committee responsibility, we also refer potential candidates for operational volunteer service to the CEO for their consideration for vital projects and initiatives in fulfillment of BHS’s Strategic Plan.
We’re “Calling!”
More than ever before, the composition of our organization is taking shape like a wonderful mosaic of more diversity and experience. With “Everyone in Harmony,” the days of BHS as a homogenous mass are changing for the better. Thus, our pool of leadership—at all levels—must be better representative of the Society’s mosaic. It’s the Committee’s goal to quash the “myth” that BHS leadership is limited to an “in-crowd” or only those with artistic fame or longevity as a member.
The Committee (known as the “LDC”) is composed of five servant-leaders who do their best to identify, vet, and refer potential leaders who are, as Society President Kevin Keller calls them, “Rockstars.” Truth is, though, that our reach has limits. If left to our own knowledge base and help from referrals like members of District leadership, we can’t and won’t know anywhere close to a large enough pool of potential “rockstars” who are willing to step up and serve!
The formal application process for consideration as Society Board candidates will open in early 2025 and will be announced in Livewire and on the Society website. No application is necessary now to learn more about potential service on the Board. Opportunities to serve in operational roles as volunteers are open on an ongoing basis as needed by the CEO.
So...we’re “calling.” We’re calling YOU! Do you feel you:
Are a dues-paid Society member?
Are passionate about our artform and its growth?
Are a good listener, consensus-builder, team member, and communicator?
Are open-minded to new ideas and others’ viewpoints?
Can leverage your career, professional, or volunteer leadership experience elsewhere to serve BHS?
Can dedicate a reasonable amount of additional time to serve BHS’s Mission and Vision?
Would find fulfillment in a service opportunity for the good of current and future members?
If your answer is “YES!” to most, if not all of these questions, the Committee would like to hear from you. Committee members would be pleased to schedule a brief one-on-one call with you if you’d like to discuss ways in which you might be willing to serve BHS. There’s no obligation to have a chat; we’re open more to providing information and answering your questions than to any “hard sell.” And, if you might not feel the “call,” personally, we’d encourage you to consider providing us with one or several names of others whom you feel might be ready to answer the “call,” based on your personal experience with them.
A special email address is set up to express a willingness for a chat with a Committee member. Just send a brief note to CalledToServeBHS@gmail.com. There’s no need to provide a lot of detailed background (unless you’d like to); this isn’t an “application.” This is just a request to talk with a Committee member. Please include:
Your contact information, particularly your city/state/province and cell phone number.
Your Chapter(s) and District(s) membership.
All requests received will be forwarded to LDC members who will follow up with you to set up a convenient time to talk. Please consider answering your “call!”
Author
Bill Colosimo is Chair of the Society’s Leadership Development Committee and a member of the Mid-Atlantic District Hall of Honor.