Day 160: So You Want To Be a Chairman!

This afternoon I had a board meeting for the foundation I chair. Promptly after the meeting I shared on Instagram the modified agenda that I create before each meeting that has the part I say (the call to order and motions) highlighted. This is because it’s new to me and I still don’t know everything.

My involvement with the chamber of commerce started slow and steady.

A few years back I was hired as a non-profit director for events and fundraising with no experience in non-profits. When I met the chamber’s executive director at a networking event (for my biz, not the np) I learned that she’d taught a college course for many years about non-profits.

The ED’s ambition and success was clear from the first time I met her.

I needed mentorship so I encouraged the np I just started to work for to let us join the chamber.

Shortly after we joined and I attended a few meetings, I decided to chair one of the committees. The Community Impact Council.

I thought, what better way to get more immersed in np world than lead a gang of them to help get local businesses and np’s to work together. It was great and I did learn a lot.

After 1.5 years I jumped ship from the np and went to work for a builder. The owner knew we needed to become members because my chair term wasn’t over yet.

A year later and that role ended.

I then started my business.

I stayed on as committee chair for an extra year but adding the foundation role made it a bit too time consuming as a business owner.

I share all of this because what started out as me being a beginner in a field looking for support evolved into me being the chairman for a brand new foundation created to support a chamber of commerce.

That’s quite the turn of events. In a relatively short amount of time.

Do I regret it? No. Not now that I’ve let go of the committee chair role.

As a sole proprietor, it became way too much for my time and energy.

Resentment = tell tale sign boundaries need to be enforced.

So, if you have signed on for certain things but your life situation has changed: it’s ok to reassess. Take some time to look at where you are now, what you are committed to, the reasons you got into what you are into, and trim as necessary.

It was difficult leaving the committee chair role but now I can give to the foundation role with more enthusiasm because it’s in better alignment with my time, energy, and skillset.