A Guide to Brainstorming

Are there times when you find that your board or council has hit a roadblock - that it can't determine how to best solve a problem?

Try brainstorming with your group. Brainstorming can be an effective way to generate lots of ideas. Then you can determine which idea best solves the problem. Follow this step-by-step guide to brainstorming:

Step 1: Define your problem - Write out your problem concisely and make sure that everyone understands it and is in agreement with it.

Step 2: Limit your time - Give yourselves a time limit in which to brainstorm.

Step 3: Write everything down on a whiteboard/chalkboard - Everyone should shout out solutions to the problem, while someone writes them all down. DO NOT ALLOW CRITICISM OF IDEAS. No matter how impossible or silly an idea is, it must be written down. Ideas that at first seem silly, may prove to be very good ones.

Step 4: Make your selections - Once time is up, select five ideas that your group likes best. Make sure everyone is in agreement.

Step 5: Judge your selections - Write down five criteria for judging which ideas best solve your problem.

Step 6: Score your selections - Give each idea a score of 0-5 points, depending on how well it meets each criterion. Once all of the ideas have been scored for each criterion, add up the scores.

Step 7: Your problem is solved! The idea with the highest score will best solve your problem. Keep a record of all your best ideas and their scores just in case your best idea turns out to be impractical.

Learn other useful board/council tips at Falmouth Institute's National Indian Board Members Conference, December 14-16, 2009 in Las Vegas, NV. Click here for details.

Just Announced! Falmouth Institute's National Indian Board Members 2009 Conference

Tribal council and board members are invited to join Falmouth, December 14-16, 2009 at the Hilton Las Vegas for this hands-on event. You'll have the opportunity to refresh your knowledge and explore new topics to ensure that your board or council works as effectively as possible to reach its fullest potential.

This conference is part of Falmouth's 2009 Indian Country Training Summit & Expo. It includes 15 training sessions, our National Indian Board Members Conference and the Indian Country Expo — all in one place and during the same week.

Bookmark this blog for updates on the conference and for useful news and information.

Negotiation Skills

To improve the working relationships of your board or council, follow these tips for addressing tough issues and negotiating agreements:

• Tell colleagues they are right before you tell them they are wrong. In other words, validate their views before you slice their ideas.
• Be fair. Fairness persuades better than the law, rules, tradition and custom.
• Keep things simple - simple is appealing and we agree with things we understand.
• Be passionate about the things you believe in.
• Be persistent - persistence is persuasion.
• Slow down when speaking so that others can follow you.
• Determine who the real decision maker is and appeal to them (figure out what drives them).

Parliamentary Procedures for Accountability

What can a board or council chairperson do to increase respect and give guidance during a meeting?

DO:
1. Preserve order
2. Insist that rules are followed
3. Insure full and free discussion
4. Protect rights of minority
5. Encourage members to participate
6. Keep your temper
7. Insist that the rules of debate be preserved

DON'T:
1. Do all the talking
2. Impose your will
3. Use your office for personal gain
4. Change everything because you're the boss
5. Refer to "MY council, MY board"; instead, say "OUR council, OUR board"
6. Permit exceptions to bylaws
7. Let the meeting drag

Follow these guidelines to keep your meetings on target and to hold board/council executives accountable.

Three Stories of Fraud in Indian Country in Today's News

This morning’s e-mail news alerts contained a sad assortment of cases involving alleged fraud and unethical conduct by tribal government officials. Though vast majority of tribal government officials serve exemplify impeccable ethical behavior, cases such as the three described below, point to the need for strict internal controls and a strong code of ethics. These are the kinds of issues we discuss at our National Indian Board Members Conference. 

The Suquamish Tribe has hired an independent investigator to review the Tribal Council's credit card usage after allegations that one councilwoman had withdrawn more than $6,800 for non-government uses. Councilwoman Linda Holt remains on the board, though some elders have asked for her resignation. Holt is accused of taking out unauthorized cash advances with her government credit card. Internal financial documents have circulated among some tribal members — and copies were obtained by the Kitsap Sun — showing $6,878 in cash advances and $4,393 in undocumented business expenses since Nov. 2007. Read more …

The former Passamaquoddy tribal governor at Indian Township and the tribe’s ex-business manager are due in federal court today to face trial on charges of misusing federal funds. Robert L. Newell and James J. Parisi Jr., are charged with misusing $1.7 million in federal funds, health care center funds and other tribal money over a 4-and-a-half-year period. Newell, who most recently served as tribal governor at Indian Township from 2002 to 2006, and Parisi, who served as Indian Township’s finance director from 2003 to 2006, were indicted on March 19 by a federal grand jury after a nearly two-year investigation.

The Indian Township tribal government received more than $7 million in federal funds between Oct. 1, 2002, and Sept. 30, 2006, according to the 29-page indictment. Of that amount, nearly $1.7 million was misapplied by Newell and Parisi for uses not allowed by federal law, the indictment charges. Read more …

 

And finally, last week, Rjay Brunkow, solicitor general for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, revealed that a yearlong "active criminal investigation" by the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and a Twin Cities law firm hired by the tribe has uncovered massive fraud within the band's Community Development Department, involving tribal building projects. No criminal charges have been filed, but so far the band has fired its commissioner of community development and five department employees, all of whom were implicated along with former Tribal Chairwoman Melanie Benjamin in having personally received services or materials from public projects, Brunkow said. Benjamin was removed from office last month, but denies any wrong-doing. She says she will fight to regain her seat.  Read more …

Are your Board/Council Meetings Effective?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. After a meeting, do participants derive a real sense of accomplishment?
2. Do things that get done at the meeting have significance?
3. Is the meeting run smoothly through skilled leadership techniques?
4. Do most/all group members participate?
5. Is the atmosphere of the meeting one of goodwill and cooperation?
6. Does the meeting group feel a sense of teamwork?

To answer, "Yes" to the above questions, make sure that your meetings are based on clear-cut objectives and conducted within a structure designed to support accomplishment of these objectives. Follow these guidelines for effective meeting planning:

1. Allocate adequate time to the objectives of the meeting
2. Make sure objectives are developed to be attainable within the time frame of the meeting
3. Don't set large blocks of meeting time for activities that don't' require the group
4. Set strict time limits on agenda items
5. Intermingle a variety of activities in meetings to capture and maintain participant interest (e.g., active discussions v. passive listening)
6. Schedule topics that require the most attention first - preferably at the beginning of the day.

Creating High Performance Work Teams -- and How to Keep Them

How do you get the right people in the right jobs to achieve optimal results? First, know the obstacles -- lack of confidence, unhealthy competition, lack of communication and fear of change. Secondly, keep in mind the success factors -- respect, sacrifice, creativity and unity (the "one team" concept). Then, use these tools for keeping your team together:

1. Write good performance results descriptions (job descriptions)
- Focus on results
- Summarize the most important features of the job, including: description of required tasks, skills and abilities; reporting structure; success factors; expected results

2. Give frequent performance appraisals
- Understand learning styles
- Measure results and provide feedback
- Document appraisals

3. Coach employees/board and council members to success
- Build trust and communicate
- Support and encourage employees
- Recognize development efforts
- Be a good role model

4. Create a culture of accountability
- Generate a feeling of investing in one's career
- Provide opportunities for employees/board and council members to lead and be heard

5. Link compensation to the organization's/board's strategic objectives

Learn more keys to being an effective board/council member at Falmouth's National Indian Board Members Conference, December 8-10, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. Click here for details.