Concept XI, Long Form:
While the Trustees hold final responsibility for A.A.’s world service administration, they should always have the assistance of the best possible standing committees, corporate service directors, executives, staffs, and consultants. Therefore the composition of these underlying committees and service boards, the personal qualifications of their members, the manner of their induction into service, the systems of their rotation, the way in which they are related to each other, the special rights and duties of our executives, staffs, and consultants, together with a proper basis for the financial compensation of these special workers, will always be matters for serious care and concern.
Groups run themselves but they don't just run themselves. For a group to be run effectively and efficiently, its major officers need to be the absolutely best available, and the group, before appointing someone, must be absolutely sure of its choice.
Many roles are trivial, so little or no caution is required.
The following roles are non-trivial, and great caution is required:
- GSR
- Chair
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Keyholder
Fairly significant are teamaker and speaker finder. If these mess up, however, the cracks can be papered over, and some redirection usually works.
By contrast: if the GSR is not connecting the group to the fellowship, if the chair or GSR is incompetent at running business meetings or group conscience meetings, if the secretary does not have high levels of administrative capability (plus the willingness to turn round work promptly), if the treasurer runs away with the money, and if the keyholder does not show up, disappears, loses the key, or handles communications with the venue poorly, the functioning of the group is threatened.
Of these, the keyholder is the most important by far: not only do they have an internal role; their role is also that of liaising with the venue and acting as the face of the group and therefore AA to the venue and to the wider community, since they are the person who is actually in communication with the community. Keyholders discharging their duties poorly has often been the cause of groups losing the only viable venue in an area and closing.
These key roles should ideally be discharged by people who are:
- Demonstrably solid in their recovery
- Peaceable, cooperative, and diplomatic
- Astute, fair-minded, and rational
- Diligent and hard-working
- Highly committed to the group
- Stable, dependable, and reliable
- Uninterested in personal attention or power
If there is any doubt about a candidate's suitability, listen to that.
Practical ways of ensuring the above:
- Advertise the post well in advance
- Make sure that competent people put themselves forward, so that, even if someone unsuitable should put themselves forward, it is likely the more suitable candidate will win the vote, and the unsuitable person is not voted in by default in the absence of other candidates
- When a candidate is presenting themselves for a major role, it is up to the chair / secretary / GSR (whoever is at the top table) to ask questions kindly but clearly to establish suitability in cases of doubt
- If the chair / secretary / GSR has doubts, these must be addressed
- Any vote must allow voters to vote 'no' without fear and to express their misgivings
- Most votes are unanimous, but if they're not, one can offer the no-voters or others the opportunity to voice their views (but not in the presence of the candidate)
- There is then the option to diplomatically present concerns to the candidate to see how they respond.
If the above is followed, the risk of an unsuitable candidate making it into a major role and wreaking havoc is minimised.