Additional Advisors added to CF Governance

[mnphysicist]

Please welcome our three new advisors

Arborvita is now an advisor :)

Profmom is now an advisor :)

meh is now an advisor :)

Constance and I will remain.

Arbor and I have yet to figure out how to split up the Grand Poobah title. 1000 blessings to the most creative way of splitting a Poobah.

For reference, the CF org chart is located at
http://christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=job_descriptions#faq_cfgovernance

[snoochface]

Other than the obvious - advising Lee - what else do "advisors" do?

What do they advise Lee on?

Do they set policy, or is that ultimately Lee's decision?

Is there any reason for us peons to care who the advisors are? Will we ever interact with them or have some reason to contact them?

[Lisa0315]

For the contest, are all advisors equal to one another or is there a hiarchy? If so, please list who reports to whom.

Thanks,

Lisa

[arborvita]

FAQ: SuperAdministrators (http://christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=admin_support#faq_advisors)

Appoints Admins and SuperAdmins. May discipline or remove staff at their discretion. Advises the CEO on matters pertaining to the site, and may act on behalf of the CEO if necessary. Answers only to the CEO.

I hope this helps. We all work as a team on the same playing field.

[BenAdam]

one is a poob, the other an ah

[Bombila]

I suggest Pooh! and Bah! as an appropriate division which also hands the 'h' to both to signify their equality. Mnphysicist was there first, he gets the extra letter. Next guy will have to settle for Humbug! ;-)

[Lisa0315]

I suggest Good Cop and Bad Cop. If you get a third, then, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. ^_^

Lisa

[mnphysicist]

Other than the obvious - advising Lee - what else do "advisors" do?

What do they advise Lee on?
Lee comes to us with questions every week, sometimes daily, sometimes multiple times a day. It can be something like the reps issue being discussed in the suggest new features arena, or it could be staffing issues, or things members brought up in conversations with Lee, such as problems with the rules, or policies etc.

Do they set policy, or is that ultimately Lee's decision?Lee sets the global top level criteria.... we then have to figure out how to get it done, or how to set rules and policy such that it supports and/or does not contradict Lee's criteria.

Is there any reason for us peons to care who the advisors are? Will we ever interact with them or have some reason to contact them?Technically the chain of command should be used... but on a practical level, members do bring up quite a number of things to us directly. I think nearly every week I receive requests from members ranging from an ID change requests, concerns over a potential stalker, an objection to a policy, complaints about staff, pretty much if there is an issue somewhere, if we don't get it via a staff PM, members PM us.

For the contest, are all advisors equal to one another or is there a hiarchy? If so, please list who reports to whom.

The heirarchy is a function of availability, ie, if folks are around, they weight in equally. If not, they dont. This was one of the driving factors, as in the past when Constance or I was unavailable, things would come to a stop. This should resolve that a great deal.

I suggest Pooh! and Bah! as an appropriate division which also hands the 'h' to both to signify their equality. Mnphysicist was there first, he gets the extra letter. Next guy will have to settle for Humbug! ;-)

I like this, what do you think Arbor?

[Rep Daddy]

This is a lot like the old Alpha Team structure Erwin had several years ago.

CONCERN: Five people making a decision can be more cumbersome than two. And if five people can make unilateral decisions we have a hydra. CF needs a COO to complement LeeD as CEO.

Erwin's system worked when he spent a lot of time in Alpha reading issues and giving direction. The frequency of Lee's input you describe, Ron, is frankly not enough unless Advisors have specific tasks and lines of authority.

My guess is this will not be an improvement despite having very good advisors.

As it is it can be impossible to get a simple answer to a question. And, Ron, I know you know what I mean.

[A Gazelle]

FAQ: SuperAdministrators (http://christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=admin_support#faq_advisors)



I hope this helps. We all work as a team on the same playing field.


http://i34.piczo.com/view/2/s/5/d/g/1/g/p/f/6/j/5/img/i235047345_46340_2.gif

[Mary_Magdalene]

This is a lot like the old Alpha Team structure Erwin had several years ago.

CONCERN: Five people making a decision can be more cumbersome than two. And if five people can make unilateral decisions we have a hydra. CF needs a COO to complement LeeD as CEO.

Erwin's system worked when he spent a lot of time in Alpha reading issues and giving direction. The frequency of Lee's input you describe, Ron, is frankly not enough unless Advisors have specific tasks and lines of authority.

My guess is this will not be an improvement despite having very good advisors.

As it is it can be impossible to get a simple answer to a question. And, Ron, I know you know what I mean.



yes, history repeats. sometimes it's better just to sit back and watch it unfold.. lol... :P

[Rep Daddy]

yes, history repeats. sometimes it's better just to sit back and watch it unfold.. lol... :P

Popcorn ???

http://www.hscripts.com/freeimages/icons/food/popcorn/popcorn-clipart-picture1.gif

[Lel]

Other than the obvious - advising Lee - what else do "advisors" do?

What do they advise Lee on?

Do they set policy, or is that ultimately Lee's decision?

Is there any reason for us peons to care who the advisors are? Will we ever interact with them or have some reason to contact them?

To the person here just to post and have a good time, it's not all that important who's who, generally speaking. There are times when site policy can influence what can be posted, but remember too that unless things have changed tremendously that there is some disconnect between site policy creation and implementation. (There always is, really, but to my eyes it was a little more noticeable here.)

If you want a change made or a leaf turned, keep the advisors in the loop. Basically they're the only ones with access to LeeD, who is pretty well the bottom line. Keep that in mind if you ever have a need to lobby for a change.

[geocajun]

This is a lot like the old Alpha Team structure Erwin had several years ago.

CONCERN: Five people making a decision can be more cumbersome than two. And if five people can make unilateral decisions we have a hydra. CF needs a COO to complement LeeD as CEO.

Erwin's system worked when he spent a lot of time in Alpha reading issues and giving direction. The frequency of Lee's input you describe, Ron, is frankly not enough unless Advisors have specific tasks and lines of authority.

My guess is this will not be an improvement despite having very good advisors.

As it is it can be impossible to get a simple answer to a question. And, Ron, I know you know what I mean.


Good points.

[Redeemed_Warrior]

Oh Alpha has been reborn ;)

[Lisa0315]

Sociologists say that a three person team is the most effective. Just saying...

[Redeemed_Warrior]

Sociologists say that a three person team is the most effective. Just saying...
I have often found that to be true

[Rep Daddy]

Sociologists say that a three person team is the most effective. Just saying...

Father, Son and Holy Spirit


Yep, works for me!

[Lisa0315]

Father, Son and Holy Spirit


Yep, works for me!

If wishes were horses...

I argued (affectionately) with my Sociology professor on everything Spiritual. I just wish I had that line when I was in his class. He would have died on the spot. LOL!

Lisa

[Rep Daddy]

Constance, I sent you a PM. Would you please respond.
Thanks
RD

[Angeldove97]

Congrats to Matt, Sylvia, and Mary. They're three very hard working individuals, who are amazing at staying on top of issues and knowing what's what.

It may seem like old Alpha coming alive, but I trust these 5 individuals very much and I think they'll all do an excellent job! I can't imagine the huge workload Constance and Ron had to deal with so hopefully this will take a little bit of pressure off of their shoulders!

Good luck and God bless--- I'm sure the Lord will bless this ministry :)

[Rep Daddy]

ADVISORS

Press Here (http://christianforums.com/showthread.php?p=46521239#post46521239)

Communicate !!!!!!!

[mnphysicist]

This is a lot like the old Alpha Team structure Erwin had several years ago.
That concerns me a lot.

CONCERN: Five people making a decision can be more cumbersome than two. And if five people can make unilateral decisions we have a hydra. CF needs a COO to complement LeeD as CEO.
Agreed on 5 people making decisions... however, when 2 are needed and one is gone, things can drag on forever. The intent being, that only 3 are needed to make a decision... and that could mean 2 are away, 2 agree, and 1 disagrees, and the decision moves forward. It should be a lot faster.... however in the short term as we build the team, we are trying to involve all 5.... and that is near insanity, even simple decisions can take many many days. However, this is just a short term aberation as we work through the process. It will end.

As far as the COO part goes, thats in Lee's domain. If we were to operate in an Alpha model, I would advocate for it, otherwise things will grind to a stop, much worse than when it was just the 2 of us. However, in trying not to be alpha it may not be needed. Ultimately though, that one is Lee's call.

Erwin's system worked when he spent a lot of time in Alpha reading issues and giving direction. The frequency of Lee's input you describe, Ron, is frankly not enough unless Advisors have specific tasks and lines of authority.
I agree with you on this... and if we had to involve all 5, and come to some conclusion as a group, no way would it be enough.

My guess is this will not be an improvement despite having very good advisors.

As it is it can be impossible to get a simple answer to a question. And, Ron, I know you know what I mean.


Yep, I do know what you mean, all too well. Please see above; it should be a short term aberation... certainly if we were to operate in this mode for more than 2-3 weeks, advisors in short order would become totally ineffective.

[constance]

Being the only person who was on old alpha and is now an advisor, my opinion is that this group is nothing like it.

On Alpha, the 4 people (ops dir, chaplain, PAD, and CAD) had to wait for everyone to vote, even if they had a 3/4 vote, you had to wait for so-n-so to get back.

The group that we have now (and I think we'll be adding one more) is a diverse and skilled group of people. We have agreed that if I'm out of town, they act without me, etc. I'm not responsible for defending any particular group of people. We are all interested in the best interest of the entirety of CF.

[Akathist]

Please welcome our three new advisors

Arborvita is now an advisor :)

Profmom is now an advisor :)

meh is now an advisor :)

Constance and I will remain.

Arbor and I have yet to figure out how to split up the Grand Poobah title. 1000 blessings to the most creative way of splitting a Poobah.

For reference, the CF org chart is located at
http://christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=job_descriptions#faq_cfgovernance

I don't usually comment in announcement threads but there is no equivalent thread in the staff area that I could find.

I think the added staff are the most objective and dedicated staff and the best ones to pick.

There were times in the past when people with an agenda seemed to keep getting placed into those positions and I really don't see any of these people with that kind of an attitude at all. They are all people I would trust to be fair even to people whose theology they would disagree with.

There have also been times when we as staff have really needed to get an Advisor and when one is away handling things in "real life" it can be hard.

I think being an Advisor is extremely time consuming and I was worried it would burn the two of you out so this will even out the load more and that I think will be good for CF as it will mean less of a turn over.

[Rep Daddy]

The group that we have now (and I think we'll be adding one more) is a diverse and skilled group of people. We have agreed that if I'm out of town, they act without me, etc. I'm not responsible for defending any particular group of people. We are all interested in the best interest of the entirety of CF.


I hope it works great. You have good people, it is the system that concerns me. Minor decisions will be fine; but controversial decisions (ones that have blow back) made when one or more were not consulted will test your team.

How Lee relates to the team and it's decisions will be interesting. Is he agreed not to over ride decisions the Advisors make? If not, folks may not consider a decision final until he speaks.

The title Advisors seems a misnomer. You are not simply advisors, you are an Executive Board making decisions.

In any case, I wish you guys well and appreciate the communication here.

[Redeemed_Warrior]

Yeah a few names there are people I had the honour of modding with, and they're great people, so CF has the possibility to move forward in leaps and bounds... plus i'm a huge fan of red tape ;) ^_^

[mnphysicist]

I hope it works great. You have good people, it is the system that concerns me. Minor decisions will be fine; but controversial decisions (ones that have blow back) made when one or more were not consulted will test your team.
Big and or controversial ones are Lee's call fortunately. :)

We do very much act like advisors, and present options to Lee on the biggies... not so much on the little things. Ie, the new statement of faith and promotion rule, which I'll announce later today, was a result of Lee's direct input. Other things, which we commonly run into, ie staffing questions and the like are in our domain.

How Lee relates to the team and it's decisions will be interesting. Is he agreed not to over ride decisions the Advisors make? If not, folks may not consider a decision final until he speaks.
On the big calls, Lee makes them, so its not an issue for the most part.

The title Advisors seems a misnomer. You are not simply advisors, you are an Executive Board making decisions.
We are on the minor things yes, but whether staffer A should be promoted, or staffer B should be removed are much less significant than coming up with a new statement of faith or promotion rule.


In any case, I wish you guys well and appreciate the communication here.
Thank you

[Crazy Liz]

Being the only person who was on old alpha and is now an advisor, my opinion is that this group is nothing like it.

On Alpha, the 4 people (ops dir, chaplain, PAD, and CAD) had to wait for everyone to vote, even if they had a 3/4 vote, you had to wait for so-n-so to get back.

The group that we have now (and I think we'll be adding one more) is a diverse and skilled group of people. We have agreed that if I'm out of town, they act without me, etc. I'm not responsible for defending any particular group of people. We are all interested in the best interest of the entirety of CF.

Hey, Constance! :wave:

Are you still around? I haven't seen you in a long time.

[Crazy Liz]

Big and or controversial ones are Lee's call fortunately. :)

We do very much act like advisors, and present options to Lee on the biggies... not so much on the little things. Ie, the new statement of faith and promotion rule, which I'll announce later today, was a result of Lee's direct input. Other things, which we commonly run into, ie staffing questions and the like are in our domain.


On the big calls, Lee makes them, so its not an issue for the most part.


We are on the minor things yes, but whether staffer A should be promoted, or staffer B should be removed are much less significant than coming up with a new statement of faith or promotion rule.


Thank you

And I miss you too, Ron. :(

[ProfessorMom]

:(

[sacerdote]

:(
It will get better.:)