Reference no: EM132230105

Friends, Volunteers, and Adversaries: Sorting Out The Players You are the executive director of a substance abuse treatment and prevention program with staff numbering 14, 745 residential clients and 150 outpatients. You run a comprehensive prevention program in the local schools, with a budget of $850,000. You have served in this capacity for nine years and built the program from scratch. You are proud of what you and your staff have them. Further, you relied heavily on the 16 members of the board of directors, 80 percent of whom have been with you since the start. Recently, however, you have been experiencing some difficulties with a new group of volunteers who have approached you about forming a “Friends of the Program” interest group to assist in fund raising and management of the two residential treatment facilities. And definitely need some help in these areas but are concerned that they well-meaning volunteers may upset the balance you have created among their sale, to staff armor and the board. Among the new “Friends” [stakeholders] are a state legislator; the spouse of one of your most powerful board members; an outspoken City Council person who is the fact that more drug programs have not been started in her district; the vice president of the local Junior League; and four members of the now defunct Narcotics Anonymous chapter. He recognized and potential strengths that this group could bring to your agency, but you want to assure yourself that their motivations are consistent with what you have been trying to accomplish. You decide to assign your assistant director, Kim, to work directly with this group to help them charter themselves as a “Friends of the Program” group and designing projects that will help the agency. Kim tells you that the group is an aggressive one, full of ideas and eager to help. For example, the state legislator has indicated he will sponsor a bill in the next session to designate your agency as the primary recipient of all block grant funds earmarked for drug treatment in the state. This styles of the board member has been openly critical of your management style, contending that you spend too much time dealing with funding sources and outside agencies, and too little time in the treatment facilities. The City Council member has told you privately they see things we’re doing a great job that that she must make a public statement about needing more programs in the district so she can get reelected. The Junior Leaguer is a long-term community volunteer who just wants to make a difference. The NA veterans, now drive for a, one to start an “alumni” chapter for those former addicts who’ve stayed clean after treatment in your facilities. Kim tells you that the next meeting of the “Friends of the Program” will be an important one since the group plans to elect officers and decide which project to tackle first. Instructions and Questions: You are the executive director.

1. What should you do first?

2. Outlining other major priorities? (Remember there is no right or wrong answer to this one)

3. Compose an action plan and list what you should do in order of priority.