This is my first year as president and I am not sure what I'm doing wrong in my meetings. I always leave very upset and worry for days about how it went. One minute my board wants to go by the rules and then the next they think the by-laws are stupid. If I try to keep us on track they get angry with me. Should I just let things go or do I try and stay in focus. our by-laws state that any changes have to be made in writing and presented to the board I tried to do this and it turned into a huge disagreement and I tabled the issue. I do not feel like I'm a good leader. I am a better worker bee but no one would step up and be president. I am really thinking about resigning. Any Advice.

Advice? Yes. Don't resign. Your group needs you. You have two issues, really:

1) Keeping meetings on track: Some groups are very informal, barely follow and agenda, allow chit-chat, cross talking, etc. At the opposite end, some are very formal and follow a business-like meeting structure with an agenda, no off-topic discussions, etc. I suppose most groups land in between the two extremes.

I say have an agenda, follow it, allow some chit-chat but keep it to a minimum. When it's time to move on, simply say so. When I first became president I said right up front that my goal was to respect everyone's time and try to keep the meetings as short as possible by sticking to the agenda. Some folks grumbled but most appreciated it.

2) Making changes: If your bylaws have requirements on this matter then you have to follow them. If certain officers or members grumble, acknowledge their comments but then blame it on the bylaws. Say something like, "I know the process seems tedious and I'd like to be more informal about it but we are obligated to follow the bylaws of our group." Place yourself on their side as a member of the same team, but as a team beholden to their bylaws.

Wow, that's info that will help me for sure! Thanks, Crew Chief.