I served on the CBA Board of Directors for 2 multi-year spells and really enjoyed the experience. It’s fascinating to watch the process whereby a group of people endeavor to steer an august organization that serves nearly 3000 members in a way that will be satisfying to at least most of the members and beneficial to the organization at the same time.
You’ll notice I said “most of the members”. Compounding things is the fact that it’s simply not possible to know to a certainty what most of the members want. Oh, you can ask for input, but surveys tend to elicit response only from the happiest and unhappiest people. Similarly, anecdotal information gathered at events is just as skewed. It’s an axiom that the unhappiest people tend to be the noisiest. And reaching a consensus on any meaningful changes is very difficult.
Yet the Board soldiers on. It takes courage, conviction, luck and foresight to do this job, but they get it right the majority of the time, in my opinion.
We have seen a tumult of change over the past 5 or so years, and I want to commend the Board (even the ones I was on) for tackling issues and bravely making changes and decisions, even when they knew there’d be alarm amongst the member base.
The Board skews younger than ever before – even younger than the member base, and this is important. The CBA needed to break out of staid old ways and avoid the “way we’ve always done it” trap. This doesn’t mean wholesale rejection of previous policies and methods – it simply means a fresh point of view and that’s vital for the longevity of any organization.
The nimble way the CBA has responded to the pandemic is simply amazing. They adroitly pivoted to reimagine the services the CBA provides in the context of the current situation and kept the organization and its mission relevant with that situation.
In doing things like improving communication to the member base, deeper embracement of social media and the adoption of virtual online performances, the CBA evolved from being a large stately ship that needs 10 miles of ocean to make a turn, into a sleek modern power yacht, which makes quick moves as needed to reach the destination.
I applaud the work of the leadership of the CBA – and I think their skills will serve the organization even better when we are able to get back together and enjoy music in each others’ company again!
