The board shouldn't seem like a distant planet, orbiting far from the members. The board's job is to serve the members and help meet their collective needs. For that you need a board that listens to the members and is responsive to the things that matter to them.

Responsive governance means the board

• has a service focus and listens to the members
• gives the members a chance to talk about the issues that matter to them
• pays attention to the changing needs of the members.

At the same time you should be careful not to get dragged into the minor disputes and brushfires that are a common feature of any community. If you let that happen you'll never get anything else done. You need to encourage your members to sort things like that out for themselves, or use a mediation process if there are serious personal differences between members. It's the bigger picture that directors need to keep focused on-the things that matter to all your members, such as good housing services from the co-op.

Here are signs that your board is responsive to the members:

• the board surveys the members to ask them if the co-op's services meet their needs
• the board makes sure the co-op takes action to address member concerns.