From: Al and Masha Sten-Clanton 
Subject: Re: responsibilities of leadership
Harvey, I think you did the right thing on that trip.  As a chapter
president, I have as one of my rules that decisions should be made by the
group whenever it can be done.  My basic notion about democracy is this:
the more participatory it can be, the better it is.  I suspect that this
attitude may help create whatever trust the chapter members are willing to
put in me.  Indeed, it may give me some of the leeway to act on the
chapter's behalf when I determine that I can't wait for a vote before
taking action on something important.  I've so far been lucky enough not
to have faced such an emergency, but if I do, I'll need all the trust I
can get from the chapter members, including those who may disagree with my
decision.
I agree, in a fashion, with the notion of "debate and move on."  The
question sometimes may be how you decide when to move on, to cut off
discussion.  I try to allow as much time for debate as I can, and I try to
promote the expression of as many views as time permits and the members
wish to express.  This, I think, is the best road to informed
decision-making.  I also try to promote an attitude that discourages
needless babbling, though that's a mighty hard thing about which to be
precise.  I think too little debate is worse than too much:  I've seen our
affiliate adopt resolutions that were badly written because the
Resolutions Committee didn't pay enough attention to the wording and there
was too little time on the floor for the rest of us to help.  
Those are some of my thoughts.
Al
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