Ignoring
Policy for Personal Favors: One example of a
thousand
Years ago, two board members, each sitting on a different
governing board, were hired by the organizations of which
they were board members. According to policy, this meant
that they would have to resign from their respective
boards. You cannot be an employee and sit on the board at
the same time because it creates a conflict of interest
situation. On the one hand, for example, you report to the
principal, college president or project director and that
person is your boss. On the other hand, you are on the
board that decides on the president's, etc. employment,
salary and so on. This makes it very difficult for your
supervisor to treat you just like any other employee. If
your supervisor just gave you a raise or wrote you up for
faulty performance, it will be very difficult for you to
make the best decision for the organization and ignore your
personal feelings.
One board member had more influence with the tribal council
than the other board members therefore, he was allowed it
keep his position on the board although he was also an
employee. The other board member complained and you guessed
it, he also was allowed to remain on the board although he
was now an employee. The reason given, we did for one
person, so we have to do it for the other one.
What was the impact of this case of ignoring policies and
who, what harm, if any, came as a result of it? If my
memory is correct:
1. The
employees (tribal members and non-Tribal ) lost respect for
the tribal government.
2. The employees (tribal members and non-Tribal ) lost
respect for the governing board.
When tribal workers lose respect for the governing body it
affects their morale. Low morale leads to poor employee
performance. Losing respect for both the governing body of
the tribe and the organization was a double whammy for the
organization.
3. The
employees began approaching this employee/board member
rather than follow the chain-of-command. This undermined
the head of the organation’s authority and chaos followed.
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