Orchestrating Great Meetings
There is always a degree of mystique around the act of chairing a meeting. As a consequence, many perfectly competent people shy away from the opportunity to chair a meeting.
The key to successfully chairing a meeting is to be absolutely clear about the purpose of the meeting. Once the meeting task is understood, it becomes easier to make the other decisions that may arise when chairing a meeting. Building the agendaClarifying the meeting's purpose will determine the meeting's agenda, which needs to be developed by the chairperson in consultation with key participants. The purpose needs to be printed clearly on the agenda to be distributed to all meeting participants well ahead of the meeting. Only include items on the agenda that will contribute to furthering the purpose of the meeting.
The meeting papersMake sure that meeting papers are sent out at least a week before the meeting, accompanied by any necessary background papers - proposals, budgets, etc. Ideally, any recommendations should be circulated in writing so they can be voted on at the meeting without any confusion about wording.Documents to be included will provide background for the agenda items. Don't be tempted to include articles that may be of interest but will not really contribute to the meeting's outcomes. Participants tend to get swamped with paper and may actually end up reading none of it or leave out the pertinent pieces, so that they come to the meeting unprepared-which will make your role as chair that much more difficult. Without being too pessimistic, an experienced chair is not surprised when participants have not read their papers, even if they are brief and relevant. Lack of knowledge about an item, never inhibits some people from loudly voicing their opinion or passing judgement and diverting the discussion. Your knowledge of the papers and the meeting's purpose, will assist you to calmly but assertively guide the participant to the relevant section of the papers to aid his understanding and bring the meeting back on track. If there are unrelated articles of interest, organise a mailout at a later date or table them at the end of the meeting, so that participants can pick up copies on their way out of the room, if they so wish. Meeting formalitiesHave the Secretary note attendance and apologies. Ask if there are any additions to the agenda. Ideally, there shouldn't be. If possible, ask people to put items on the agenda in advance. This gives people time to consider their positions. Not everybody on a committee is that organised, and people must be given a chance to bring up important issues at short notice, but if something really important comes up at this stage, consider holding it over till the next meeting.Have the committee sign off on the minutes of the last meeting. Only people who were at the meeting should vote on this point (a show of hands is sufficient). Minutes are the official record of the actions and decisions of the Board, and should not be taken lightly. After this comes Matters Arising from the Minutes; this is an opportunity to check that the things that were planned at the last meeting have in fact been started by the people who were assigned to do them (a good Chair will have checked this over with the staff before the meeting). Make sure that this agenda item doesn't swallow up the rest of the meeting's business - nothing should be discussed under this heading if it comes in elsewhere on the agenda, and the Chair may have to cut people off quite often. ReportsThe Treasurer delivers the financial report and answers any questions. This is simply an explanation of the situation as it now stands - any discussion of fundraising or economies should come elsewhere in the meeting under its own agenda item.The financial report should come early in the meeting, just in case the meeting has to decide on spending elsewhere in the agenda and needs to know the background. The Chair should have had a brief discussion with the Treasurer before the meeting to be sure that he or she is on top of the figures. It is definitely part of the responsibilities of the committee to satisfy itself that the organisation has adequate procedures to cover unexpected emergencies - enough insurance, a way of keeping an eye on cash flow and forward commitments, contingency plans. If there's a report from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) it comes in next. This is the opportunity for the committee and the staff to communicate. The CEO reports on background to the organisation's activities, for information only. If the issues involve any decisions from the meeting then they should be given their own place in the agenda and voted on separately. If the committee has any subcommittees they should have a communication channel to the meeting, and this is where they come in. The sub-committee reports on its activities and brings recommendations and proposals to the full meeting. Conduct BusinessAfter the meeting has received the background it can consider the items that need to be decided. Each should have an agenda item on the previously circulated agenda. Ideally, there should be a supporting paper for each issue, and recommendations for further action. Any motions or amendments should also be in writing. This is not only for the convenience of the secretary but so that it can be shown that decisions have been taken according to the rules in case there is any argument later. For this reason, decisions should be taken in the form of motions even when everybody agrees on them and there?s no need for a vote.If there is a lot of routine business consider having a consent agenda ? that is, routine motions, such as to accept committee reports or approve expenditure, are starred, and will be carried automatically unless someone asks the Chair to move any of them to the regular agenda. This allows the meeting to concentrate on issues that are either important or new, or both. Some important but complicated issues don't belong on the agendas of regular meetings unless they come with reports or specific recommendations for action. This kind of issue is better handled at a special meeting (or a retreat) where you can focus on this issue alone and talk through all its aspects without having to break away and take up other business. After you've handled all the business on the circulated agenda discuss any items that were brought up at the beginning of the meeting without notice, bearing in mind that if anybody wants more time to consider things you will probably need to put the question on the agenda of the next meeting. Facilitating discussionBeing a good chair is not to take over the meeting but to facilitate discussion. This means creating an atmosphere where committee members can debate, struggle with issues, reach compromise and at times to agree to disagree.Ensure that everyone knows the rules of the meeting. Is it a formal or an informal meeting. Will decisions be made through consensus or will a formal voting procedure be followed? Whichever style of meeting is chosen and agreed upon, it is your role that consistency is maintained throughout the meeting. As a chairperson you must remain neutral at all times. If there is an item on the agenda about which you feel strongly, ask someone else to take the chair for that agenda item so that you are able to participate more freely in the debate. Introduce each agenda item with a brief summary of the background to the item and then quickly pass on to someone else. Ensure that everyone has an opportunity to speak, including people of non-English speaking background or who may have some disability that prevents them from jumping in and speaking quickly. Deal with diversity with patience and the meeting will reap the benefits. Be democratic but stay in control. If someone, who for their own reasons, wants to dominate or divert the agenda, is derailing a meeting it is up to the chair to bring them to order. This has less chance of becoming personal and destructive if you can keep the meeting focused on the task at hand No matter how rattled you may feel inside, keep the purpose at the forefront of your mind. Drop your shoulders, breathe evenly and speak in a calm rather low voice. A good chair practices active listening, is able to acknowledge speakers with appropriate facial gestures and clarify or summarise their points when necessary.
If as chairperson you feel that an item is far more complex than previously thought. Do not just let it run over time. You have three possible ways to go here. You can:
Whichever option you decide to take you will need to stop the discussion on the agenda item, summarise what has happened and ask approval from the meeting to carry out your option. If the item is causing too much "heat" without progressing forward, it is probably wise to choose one of the last two options to give people enough time to gather their thoughts. Satisfactory conclusionAlways end on time and on a positive note so that people will feel that their contributions have been worthwhile. If there's a success to announce, bring it up here.Review decisions and in particular the actions resulting from the discussions. Tell the meeting that the minutes will be distributed within a week as an aide to help them remember what they have agreed to do. Confirm the next meeting date and time to make sure everyone is able to attend. Finally thank the meeting members for their participation. Remember that as volunteers, they have made a serious investment of their time to support your organisation and its cause. |