This is actually more of a rant then a question so please feel free to ignore it completely. It needed to come out somewhere safe before it comes out somewhere that could/would create a negative impact!

I became PTO president a month or so ago after the other president resignedfor an assortment of reasons. The impact on the PTO wasn't positive ornegative by the resignation, it is what it is and we are moving forward.

That being said... there is oneboard member who I know has the worlds BEST intentions. She is also constantly over booking herself, in every other committee members business, and not getting her items handled. The speed of light doesn't move fast enough for this lady most days it seems.

She and the last president were very tight and I am starting to feel like this lady probably ran the PTO, to a large extent, through her recommendations and such to the last president. Basically she was always in the know and a busy body trying to fix things. We had several "executive decisions" made by these ladies that were then told to the board. A practice that irritated many but nothing was ever done about it. It is a practice I don't intend to carry forward though. She claims to want change and to better the organization but I wonder at times if she isn't missing the forest for the trees as the saying goes.

I have a few new ideas. Nothing radical but ways I prefer to handle things from past experience to help improve things. She is the constant stone wall though. I have had more run ins with her in the last month then I have ever had with anyone else. I do my best to respond in a positive, polite fashion, and she normally ends up saying she "agrees" or "likes" the changes but then when it comes to implementing them... that doesn't happen. She is the one I have to be the strictest and sternest with about policy, etc. She wants a "policy" in place for everything, creates havoc trying to implement policies that don't exist in situations that I have all ready assured her (and shown her) I could/can/will handle when the timing is right, and then seems to directly ignore the policies/procedures I am trying to implement for the betterment of the board/organization.

I am not trying to be difficult. I have clearly stated that if this idea or that concept doesn't work we can reevaluate the situation moving forward. I need for her to understand that and to slow down, back up, do her job and let the rest of the universe (and board) do their jobs. I like her and don't want to create major issues but I can see us getting to that point, especially if she continues to try to micromanage everyone, especially me! My type A personality can only take so much....

I feel for you, especially the aspect of the situation where she isn't getting her work done.

I'm a big proponent of the "Come to Jesus" meeting (so to speak) with trouble-makers where everything is laid out on the table in a plain speaking fashion and with the goal of radically transforming the situation going forward. However, I suspect that this power-hungry member has been allowed to run rampant for far too long for this kind of discussion to do anything but make her more determined to run the show.

So, the thought that immediately came to mind is that the best defense is a great offense.

Currently, she's running you ragged putting out all the fires she's setting. Perhaps you can switch this around by keeping her too busy to stir up trouble. Maybe the way to do this is to schedule frequent meetings with her to discuss status updates regarding her responsibilities. Question every detail, give her frequent deadlines each step of the way, and (when she fails to meet those deadlines) re-assign those parts of her responsibilities to others sympathetic to what you're trying to do (bring the board's authority firmly back to the President's position).

It shouldn't take too long -- perhaps only long enough to remove one responsibility from her plate -- until she starts turning her focus inward.

Just a thought.

I've had a few 'troublesome' board members in the past - especially ones that want things to remain the way they always have been.

I have found that the best thing to do is to stick to your bylaws and Roberts Rule of Law. Those guidelines were seriously put in place for a reason and I definitely learned to appreciate them my first time as president 7 years ago. Stick to a majority vote and if she has an argument against something then you need to have both sides speak on the issue - pros and cons - to give your board members knowledge before voting. Then you accept the vote for whatever it is. Leaving the decisions in the hands of many will discourage the influence of the one and it makes things more fair in the end.

Thanks for the replies!

She has all ready done it again. The problem is that she won't leave a chance for others to make suggestions, etc. Just in the past week alone she has approached a school committee (teachers/admins) for a request from the PTO that we weren't even aware of and also sought out contract information for another item for the school that was her own idea that no one else even asked about OR knew about!

Needless to say she is less then happy I am sending them to the right committees to be presented at the board meeting. In some ways all that has done though is create unnecessary work for the committees. And while she was doing that she wasn't doing her job, again.

I'm going to give her until the board meeting this month. I have a feeling at the board meeting she will once again try to run it and keep us all tied up in listening to things that we don't have enough information to vote on, etc. Due to her our meetings have lasted as long as 3 hours before! That is silly!

So, depending on how that goes, since she is still the one I don't have all of the information from for the meeting (gr), I plan to pull her aside after the meeting for a heart to heart. Maybe the next day or so. Not be rude but clearly explain the expectations, how she can better meet them, how everyone else can meet them with her not creating issues, etc. I will do my best to be diplomatic but that may not sink in either! At the end I will either piss her off or get her on board... my hope is the later but if she takes it as the former I can't change that fact.

Does your PTO have agendas at the board meetings? If not, it would be time to begin this practice -- if a topic is not on the agenda, it may not be discussed.

If your meetings are run by agenda, members may call for "Orders of the Day" to force the board or any given member to return to the agenda. It is not debatable, it does not require a second, it can be made even if it interrupts the person speaking, it cannot be reconsidered, and it must be enforced.

Wow, it definitely sounds like you have a loose cannon. Agree with jewel & Jenean that you need to have a very frank conversation with her and that your group needs to stick with a meeting agenda and follow Roberts Rules. Maybe when your secretary sends out an email asking for agenda items she could say something like, "people are complaining about the length of our meetings so we want create a tight agenda and stick with it." But I understand that this is only one part of your problem with her. These articles may help with confronting her after the meeting:

www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/arti...ith-difficult-people

www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/arti...roversy-to-consensus

www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/arti...upport-for-new-ideas

Hang in there and keep us posted on how it goes!

~Lisa

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