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RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL COMMITTEE ARIZONA DEMOCRATS DISTRICT 8  December, 2001

Running an Effective Committee " One, two, three, YAWN! Inefficient, unproductive meetings may be the single biggest time waster in both business and government. In one poll, 90% of managers said half the meeting they attend were either unnecessary or a complete waste of time.“  -- David Wiggins, Human Resources Consultant “When teaching anything to anyone – it’s important to keep in mind learning goes through three steps: hearing, understanding, believing. For most, these three steps do not occur at the same time; therefore the coach should expect to have to cover this material at least three times over the weeks that the team meets and works together.”  -- Donald J. Bodwell  RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL COMMITTEE Establish the Objective  Select Members  Set the Ground Rules  Provide Tactical Tools  Empower Members Define Member  Deliverables/Monitor Progress  Manage the Behaviors  Get the Job Done  Have Fun ESTABLISH THE OBJECTIVE  Determine what you want the committee to accomplish  Provide committee members with a rudimentary outline of goals  Establish timelines for results  Clarify who your internal and external customer is Select Members  Know what roles need to be managed and pick those with strengths  Select members who may have expressed interest in the subject  Choose members who are passionate – and prudent on the goals  Pick members who are available  Consider including those with varying viewpoints  Invite members who have energy Set the Ground  Rules Confirm with members the importance of agreeing to the rules  Have an outline prepared, ask for other suggestions  Cover importance of:  Promptness: start on time – finish within the published timeframe  Collaborative Brainpower  Check egos at the door  Agree to disagree  No interruptions when a member is speaking  No side conversations during the meeting  Keep the meeting on track  Accountability for delivering the task assigned  Provide Tactical Tools  Prepare and distribute the agenda in advance of the meeting  Make sure the meeting room accommodates the group’s needs  Assign a member to take minutes AND distribute them within a set period of time  Collect and distribute the phone and email addresses at first meeting Empower the Members  Encourage a sense of individual and group ownership in the objectives  Provide clear expectations  Establish a climate of trust in each other and the group  Don’t have all the answers  Don’t insinuate you’ll catch the ball if they drop it  Share the credit for good ideas, acknowledge the contributions Define Member Deliverables  Delegate with clarity: what needs to be done  Set individual relationship whereby delays/glitches are identified early  Gain clarity of member’s understanding of their role and what is expected  Set up agreed to milestones to measure momentum against goals Manage the Behaviors Reinforce the ground rules:  No interrupting  No side conversations  Agree to disagree  Explore the underlying needs and positions of others  When managing conflict, clarify points of agreement first  Adequately present opposing positions in an organized manner  Work to achieve true collaboration  If collaboration is not possible, work toward the acceptable compromise of all parties  Keep arguments issue oriented and not person oriented  Discourage and eliminate digression  Avoid dominance by any one member  Minimize dwelling on minutia during meeting time Get the Job Done Understand your accountability as a Committee Chairperson  Keep the District Leader and others with a need to know informed  Establish timelines with the District Leader  Deliver a quality product on time and with results  Have Fun!  Recognize the importance of play in developing team spirit and morale  Deadly serious teams can create a Titanic mentality which lowers the chances of success  Humor and fun can build energy and improve the team’s ability to succeed

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