Sign In Forgot Password

Allow me to Kvell a little

02/04/2021 09:09:56 PM

Feb4

Steve Fintel

I consider myself lucky in my role as president. First, I'm backed up by an Executive Director and Senior Rabbi who at various times in their life were congregation presidents. I get great advice from both of them in their paid roles as well as when I ask them to take off their official hats and tell me what they would do as president. Having such quality backup makes it easier for me to navigate this role.

But what makes my job really inspiring is the board that serves with me. This board was intentionally selected to represent the wide diversity of our congregant population. With no wide majority of either gender, we have wide demographic representation as well so I'm confident we have voices from across our membership.

What really makes me glow with pride however is how well we work together. Let me give you two examples that prove the point: almost two weeks ago, we met as a group to review the results of the benchmark survey the congregation took in September (I'll have more to say about that in upcoming messages). It was a 3 hour Zoom meeting (now I know how all the school kids feel). Instead of seeing a screenful of sleepy eyes, I was amazed to see the level of engagement and interest of every board member. We broke into smaller groups to discuss specific issues and our 40 minute breakout wasn't long enough! There was a lot of lively discussion and I think we created some positive momentum to map out our strategic directions for the next few years.

The second example was a couple of meetings the executive committee held where we had to make some difficult decisions (sorry to be such a tease, but expect some news soon). Our discussions were frank but respectful and honest. As I listened to the banter, I kept thinking to myself about how comfortable this group felt expressing themselves and without prompting everyone participated in the discussion. We eventually were able to come to a unanimous decision that represented a compromise that included all of the opinions expressed.

It was a very satisfying process. But the most remarkable thing is that neither the executive committee nor the full board has ever been in the same room as one group. We are able to share our opinions and speak freely like we're old pals even though our context together is as little boxes on the screen. If this how well we get along virtually, I can't wait to work together (literally) shoulder to shoulder. I feel truly blessed to be surrounded by such a great group.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to kvell.

Feel free to reach out to me at president@bethshalomaustin.org or thank any of our board members directly for the great job they're doing.

--Steve

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784