Sometimes
actions need to be taken at the level of AA as a whole, e.g. organising public
information work, running the offices, publishing literature, and sharing best
practice on how to deal with problems. That is why we need a structure.
Who decides
what to do and how to do it? Ultimate authority resides with the groups
(Concept I), and the ultimate authority behind groups is the Higher Power,
expressed through the group conscience (Tradition II). The active voice and
effective conscience of the fellowship as a whole is the Conference of AA in GB
(Concept II). The Conference has delegated authority.
One purpose
of the Concepts is to enable the active voice, the Conference, to be informed
by the ultimate authority, via the groups.
What is
discussed and where? Questions are posed by members, groups, intergroups,
regions, or other bodies, and they are distributed to the fellowship for
discussion at group level.
What happens
to the views expressed? Group service representatives convey the conscience of
groups to delegates, and delegates attend Conference along with Board members
and staff.
How are
major decisions of policy and finance made at Conference (Concept VI)? Discussion,
vote, and substantial unanimity (Concept XII), with voting power matching
responsibility (Concept IV), plus the right to voice a minority opinion
(Concept V).
Who
implements the decisions? The trustees of the General Service Board, the
charity that stands in parallel to the fellowship, which has chief initiative
and active responsibility (Concept VI).
Conference’s
power is not legal but traditional and is backed by the flow of AA funds from
groups; the Board’s power derives from legal documents (the Memorandum and
Articles of Association of the charity). There is a delicate balance: the
fellowship acting through the Conference is in charge, but the Board is obliged
(albeit rarely) to override this in order to comply with the law (Concept VII).
Pitstop
summary? The ultimate authority is the Higher Power, speaking through the group
conscience, and authority is gradually delegated through the system to the
Board, which acts.
How does the
Board act? It either directs activities or incorporates new entities, hiring
staff to direct them and supervising those staff (Concept VIII).
Who does the
actual work? Sub-committees, staff, and consultants. The Board initiates and
supervises; the ‘doers’ ‘do’. (Concepts VIII and XI).
What
principles govern how the work is carried?
Each level
serves those it is accountable to: sub-committees serve the Board, who serve AA
groups through the Conference, Delegates, and GSRs, and the groups serve the
Higher Power.
Each servant
is not blindly following the dictates of those it serves: within the scope of
the authority delegated, each acts intelligently and responsibly, exercising
right of decision to discharge their duties as they see fit (Concept III, which
suggests we respond to each situation by acting, reporting, consulting, or
asking). Servants exercise judgement, listen to their conscience, and lead
through sound example (Concept IX), by accepting responsibility, acting
promptly, placing principles before personalities, and exhibiting flexibility.
Under
Concept X, authority and responsibility go together: if you’re carrying the
can, you’re the one who may exercise the authority, and vice versa.
Concept XII
sets out the ‘general warranties of Conference’:
No
concentration of wealth or power
No
unqualified authority over others or acts of government
No action
that is publicly controversial or personally punitive
Prudent
financial management and the maintenance of a prudent reserve
Decisions
made by discussion, vote, and substantial unanimity
Overall
principle: democracy
To sum up:
there is a chain of responsibility running from the doers, all the way back
through the decision makers to the Higher Power that is behind Alcoholics
Anonymous, as it expresses itself in the group conscience.