Follow Your Rules

It can be frustrating to operate in environments where rules are not followed consistently. Member satisfaction is closely related to fairness and alignment to the aims of an organization. After all, why would anyone want to maintain membership where payment is made (with time and treasure) but value is not returned in exchange? Members join organizations to carry out specific objectives and to be treated fairly in doing so.  To ensure fairness for all, it is important that members adhere to rules of order and understand rulemaking responsibilities.

Membership is an ongoing agreement between members and an organization. In a parliamentary context, members have the opportunity to enjoy certain rights and privileges by association. The right to attend meetings, make motions, offer amendments and resolutions, speak in debate, vote, be elected to office, and other privileges are all protected and governed by the rules an organization adopts. Typically, members are required to remain in good standing to enjoy such rights. Requirements such as timely payment of financial obligations and training completion may impact certain member rights, privileges, and freedoms in whole or in part.

An interesting paradox of freedom is that in order to share it with others, it must be regulated. Collective limits are established through regulation so that individual rights may be protected. Imagine the chaos that would unfold in a meeting where all members did as they wished, without any consequence. In each meeting, an organization decides what it will do but rules provide the boundaries for how that business is conducted. Some common issues that prevent rules from being followed include:

• Suspending the rules: this concept is often misunderstood, since not all rules can be suspended. Bylaws, for example, must be followed until they are changed via amendment or general revision.

• Conflicting provisions: poorly written bylaws can create serious problems among members. Particularly in defining officer and board powers, elections, and fiscal matters, ensure that language is clear and does not conflict with itself or rules of higher authority.

• Customs: simply put, customs are “the way it always has been done.” If a customary practice is in conflict with a rule, the rule must be followed if any member raises a point of order on the issue, no matter how longstanding the custom.

If members consistently request for a rule to be suspended, that rule should be properly amended. Bylaws should be reviewed on a periodic basis so that unclear and conflicting language can be corrected. Longstanding customs should be codified as written rules to eliminate ambiguity and contrasting understandings between members. Addressing these common issue areas will help in the ongoing maintenance of useful rules for an organization. Amending and revising rules should not be done for trivial matters but must be done as often as necessary to protect a membership in proceedings. All members would be wise to periodically review rules binding upon them to ensure they reflect not only the organization they have but one they wish to have.

Rules are created to serve the members; members are not created to serve the rules. Follow your rules, and when necessary, change them to match the way in which your organization truly operates. As time and membership evolve, so too should the rules that govern. Members should make a conscious effort to address issues in contentious areas like elections and fiscal matters well in advance of activities where conflicts could arise or have previously arisen. The entire membership is responsible for development of rules that assist with the fair and orderly conduct of business. Members who understand and agree with the rules are far more likely to abide by them in support of organizational objectives.

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