By Jonathan Farber
I'd heard the legends, of course, told around the AAP campfire as the light wanes and the marshmallows splutter out, leaving us in the Darkness-That-Swallows-All. After the horrifying tales like the disallowed insurance claims dating from 2009 and the 60-page ethics complaint...
then is heard the whispered name of EC....EC......E!...C! I'd heard EC compared to everything from the Bellevue acute admissions unit to the North Korean Joint Chiefs. But nothing I'd heard prepared me for the reality. Because the reality was surprisingly sane.
For one thing, there is a great deal of structure to the meetings these days, and we all know structure tends to contain both interpersonal and intrapsychic pathology. The agenda is set months in advance, and each committee has prepared a report which EC members have the chance to review ahead of time. The report summarizes the work the committee accomplished and the work yet to be done, and specifies the issues the committee wants addressed in the meeting (e.g. additional guidance, staff, or financial support). The president (Lorrie Hallman) chaired the meeting, and because we all wanted to get the work done and get out of there on time, there were few complaints each time she chose to rein in extended discussion and refocus on completing the agenda.
Besides the sanity, another surprise to me was the amount of time spent checking and updating the Policy and Procedures Manual. When people aren't sure how to do something...they consult the manual. When we decide to change how we do something, we change the manual. So there is always a current and accessible description, in plain English, for every essential Academy function. The past president (Margaret Nichols) has familiarized herself with this voluminous and evolving document with the obsessive passion of a Talmudist. Using what must be some kind of dedicated cross-referencing structure in her brain, she points out when a change in one place logically requires changes in other passages located elsewhere in the manual. Considering the complexity, this also goes rather smoothly, and the result is that any of us doing work for the Academy has ready access to the experience of past members, and leaves guidance to future members.
The discussions were mostly to the point, and always respectful, and everyone's input was welcomed and considered. About half the 20 or so who were present were not elected members: they were there as committee members or chairs, e.g. the historian (Sue Timms), the training chair (Stephanie Spalding) or the program chairs for future national events, or the Voices editors. So there was sometimes a mild awkwardness when an official vote was required for the record, or as required by the constitution, and only the elected half us could cast a vote.
To me, the most impressive discussions involved the complex issues, because we integrated perspectives from diverse corners of the Academy. The matter of raising dues, for instance, began with our treasurer (Robin Truitt) showing us that the current budget was not sustainable without increased revenue, and then the membership chair (Nelia Rivers) and the retention chair discussing the implications for members; the program chairs estimating income from their future conferences...you get the idea. In some of the discussion, I realized afterwards, we played out our familiar Sluggers (“Face reality and balance the budget”) versus Huggers (“But we'll upset our friends, and maybe lose good people”). So we Slugged and we Hugged and developed various complex and creative solutions, until we settled on one plan, and voted to go with it. Even most of the controversial topics ended up with unanimous or nearly unanimous votes, and I assure you, this wasn't because these members were afraid to disagree with each other.
Of course, EC is part of AAP, so it begins and ends with – you guessed it – a process group. Negative experiences from within the room and from elsewhere in our lives were aired and addressed. Positive connections were honored and celebrated, and often proved contagious. Overall, there was the satisfied feeling of having accomplished meaningful work. Together.
I'll be back.
DAMMIT, who finished the graham crackers while I was talking?
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