Karla Youngblood

I am interested in serving on this Board because I see it as a way of serving the community that I just entered in a way that I am uniquely qualified to do. I’m really impressed with the Co-op Community Fund and appreciate the Co-op has done to support the local farmers here. I want to support those efforts in a meaningful way and deepen our commitment to regional food security. I also want to embrace the educational aspect of the Co-op principles and see how we can offer more education to our members. 

I have a lot of experience running efficient, effective meetings that give everyone a voice. I have training in Conscious Leadership and Non-Violent Communication that provides the framework for open, honest and respectful dialogue.

The Board's role is to make decisions about the co-op or to hire people to make those decisions. The Board's role is also a governing leadership role, meaning that the decisions need to take into consideration what will be best for all members. Ultimately it is to represent the members/owners while ensuring that the Co-op remains a financially healthy business. 

I served on the Orick Community Services District Board of Directors and before that, was their Project Direct for a Community Wastewater. I worked with various stakeholders and was the funnel of communication between a very diverse group of people (from ranchers to engineers to employees of local, state, and federal regulatory agencies). I acquired grant funding, managed those funds, and created regular reports for the grantors. I held regular meetings for the public to keep them abreast of the project's progress and addressed questions and concerns.  

It means that when I am voting on Co-op matters, I am only considering what is best for the Co-op, not any of my personal interests or the interests of other groups I may be a part of.

I would encourage any members to come to meetings or submit their concerns or statements to be included in the board meeting packets. If members are at the meeting, I would ensure that their input is heard and considered. If they are not at the meeting, I would ask the board as a group to consider what they might say if they were there. I also would remember that my perspective is just that - a perspective. So I would look at alternate perspectives before making a decision and ask the other board members to do the same.

Most relationships requires repair work at some time. Sometimes we just need to apologize, privately or in front of the team. Other times, we need to acknowledge or mistake and then explain how we would do it differently if we could do it over and commit to doing it differently next time. In either case, it's important to truly listen to the other party about what their experience was and reflect back to them what we heard so they know we understand. Empathy coupled with an apology goes a long way. 
A personal experience I can provide is from a few months ago when I was in a meeting and was really frustrated with a colleague because I believed they were being condescending and "mansplaining" to me. My frustration showed and after we had both calmed down, we talked about it. We each shared our perspective of what happened in the meeting and apologized. We talked about whether or not we should share the discussion with the team and agreed that we didn't need to. If we had agreed it was important, we would have brought it up at the next meeting. 

I am trained as a coach so I am literally a professional listener. :) So that is my strongest skill in this regard. I listen and then reflect back to the speaker what I think I heard, asking for clarification. Then I often ask questions to gain a deeper understanding.
I have been a part of many teams, often in leadership roles, where we had to work out differences and compromise to get to resolutions.  Sometimes my experience and opinion was considered but not agreed with and I simply had to live with it and keep working toward the end goal. It didn't change my commitment to the team.
I actually like the process of compromise and find it inspires a lot of growth.

A good group decision is made with the end in mind. What is our end goal and how do we want to get there? Giving everyone an opportunity to contribute is key, even if initially it seems inefficient. Then the group can parse out common opinions and themes and hopefully hone in on the core needs or desires of the individuals. I think it's great to take turns in facilitating these conversations to maintain a power balance. As the essential needs are drawn out, a decision can be made that is in line with the bigger goal.
While it's a very different situation, a group I am a part of recently had to make a decision about working with other companies that wanted to join the business. To make the decision, the leadership team provided information on the three companies, provided space for everyone to speak up about them, and then asked for feedback in an email that was not a group email so people could speak freely. In this case, those opinions were considered and the management team made decisions based on them. 

Essentially, it is the board's role to provide the GM with a vision and empower them to turn it into reality. This means board members won't tell the GM what needs to happen or how to do it, but will provide them with the "North Star" to use as a guide.