CLARB Leadership Expectations

CLARB’s core purpose is to provide uniform standards of competency to practice landscape architecture.

Our core values include integrity, collaboration, stewardship and protection of the public’s health, safety and welfare. CLARB’s leaders support this by:

Providing direction for the organization
Ensuring that sufficient resources are allocated to accomplish its goals
Ensuring that adequate progress is being made toward its goals
Serving as an ambassador for the organization

There are many benefits of CLARB leadership:

Pride and satisfaction of meaningful service to the public and the profession
Broadening/deepening of leadership skills
Satisfaction of investing time and energy to ensure a bright future for the organization
Enjoyable experience with a smart, dedicated, diverse collection of professionals
Recognition for contributions
Pride of helping to lead an organization that has a growing global reputation for excellence and leadership

What a leader can expect from CLARB:

Good information – volunteers and staff work hard to ensure that the CLARB leadership has access to timely, accurate and relevant information on which to base decision making
Supportive environment – staff and leadership work collaboratively in a supportive environment
Professional staff – CLARB’s dedicated staff is available to support the leadership and implement its decisions
Access to best practices – the CLARB leadership has access to best practices in governance, strategic and financial planning
CLARB covers expenses – the organization covers all expenses associated with travel for Board-related purposes

What CLARB expects from its leaders and volunteers:

Prepare for and attend all meetings
Engage in dialog and deliberation with an open mind
Make decisions in the best interests of CLARB
Publicly support the actions and decisions of the Board

Desired Competencies for Leadership

Based on guidance from the Board of Directors, the following criteria are used to evaluate candidates for volunteer positions:

Responsibility: Being part of CLARB leadership is a big responsibility. The organization relies on its volunteers. It needs people who show up prepared because when individuals are not prepared, it affects the team and what the organization is able to accomplish.
Stewardship: CLARB not only needs leaders, but individuals who will be good stewards for the organization. Good stewards leave the organization better than when they joined.
Diversity: CLARB is committed to seeking a diverse group of leaders for the organization. This includes diversity in perspectives, demographics, geography, and experience.
Intentional learning: Board/LAC members don't necessarily have to know everything about CLARB and their new leadership role, but they must be willing to learn and grow into what is needed for their role. If individuals are willing to learn and grow through their service with CLARB, they will not only help the organization, but hopefully they’ll take something from this experience as well.
Team player: The Board/LAC have a lot of discussions—and individuals don’t always agree on everything, but they do agree to have respectful discussions where everyone has a voice and works together to come to consensus on key issues and decisions. When a decision is made—whether an individual agrees with it or not—it is their role as a member of leadership to be a good ambassador for the decisions the group makes as an organization. The Board/LAC works as a team to accomplish its goals.
Effective communicator: So much of what leadership does is communicating—whether it is their thoughts on a certain topic and their reasons for those thoughts or communicating leadership decisions to members. Good leaders must be willing and able to communicate their thoughts well so the entire group can benefit from their time in CLARB leadership and the organization can benefit by having good ambassadors for its work. Part of being a good communicator includes the ability to listen to and seek to understand other points of view.
Effective questioner: Valuing long-term success over short-term “relief” from pain, the Board spends the lion’s share of its time thinking about the future, establishing direction and vetting a strategy for how to get there. LAC members will also have to be able to think long-term for what is best for the future leadership of the organization. Being able to ask effective questions helps leadership think through discussions and make the best long-term decisions for the organization.
Highly reflective/self-aware: Good leadership take time to reflect on how they contribute to the organization. Suggested thoughts for reflection include questions where leaders can be honest with themselves to continue their growth in their role: “Were my questions at the right level and relevant to the discussion?,” “Did I come prepared?,” and “How can I help the group achieve its goals in a productive and effective manner?”

Board of Directors’ Desired Expertise

Emerging professional: Brings awareness of the LA profession from a different perspective, other competencies/perspectives, currently or soon to be on the path to licensure. Recent graduate, on the path to licensure, passionate about the profession, some experience.
International perspective: Practices internationally, exposure to standards for practice outside of North America.

Leadership Responsibilities

Board of Directors

The CLARB Board of Directors is responsible for setting organizational direction, allocating adequate resources to achieve its goals and ensuring that sufficient progress is being made. They exercise fiduciary responsibility of the organization’s resources and establish strategy and policy.

As part of the Board of Directors, officers are required to:

Set direction through strategic priorities and governance policies
Ensure resources through thoughtful planning
Provide oversight in performance monitoring and authority
Develop relationships with board members and volunteers
Champion CLARB through external relationships
Come prepared for service and actively participate in all meetings related to elected/appointed position

Leadership Advisory Council

In order to create and maintain a complete list of all candidates for leadership positions, assess the nominations for qualified nominees for elected and appointed office and produce a slate of qualified nominees, members of the Leadership Advisory Council will:

Provide timely, candid, thoughtful perspectives and insights to the chair and to staff
Ensure that the tasks identified are aligned with the process as identified in the Bylaws
Provide input to the Board on the challenges and opportunities in the current process of identifying and producing a slate of candidates for the Leadership Advisory Council and elected and appointed positions
Serve a three-year term (October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2024; while serving on the Leadership Advisory Council, members are unable to run for CLARB office.)
Participate in all committee conference calls and attend two face-to-face meetings of the committee (typically in December and March/April) at the CLARB office in Reston, Virginia*

*All dates listed are the typical CLARB travel schedule but due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, all travel will be determined closer to date. CLARB focuses on the health, safety, and welfare of all meeting participants.