Effective Meetings

1
Effective Meetings
www.kenhaycock.com

• Dr. Ken Haycock
• Senior Partner
• March, 2006

2
Definitions

• A meeting is a purposeful formal gathering of
  organizational members to determine and undertake
  tasks to advance the agenda, maintain functions
  and processes and build the groups capacity to
  act in the future.
• Meetings are concerned with people and processes
  to develop and advance the organizations goals.

3
Some Reasons for Meetings

• Dispense information (cannot be the only reason!)
• Solve problems
• Plan/strategize tasks
• Air concerns
• Invest in board growth and learning
• Motivate staff

• Make/validate decisions
• Create new options, visions, directions
• Establish new governance procedures
• Evaluate works in progress
• Celebrate successes

4
Essential Questions

• Am I willing to invest the time to create an
  identity for our Board and a sense of teamwork?
• Am I willing to work with the Board to move
  deliberations and operations to the level of
  setting policy, goals, priorities, processes and
  frameworks and monitor implementation?
• Am I willing to delegate to staff the means of
  implementation?
• Am I willing to avoid micromanagement and
  administration?
• And I willing to be fair, consistent and
  constructive in feedback to the CEO?

5
Essential Questions

• Can I acknowledge that the CEO directs the staff,
  not the Board? can I accept a CEO model of
  Board/staff relations?
• Am I willing to invest the time in planning
  meetings to ensure success? generate items
  develop criteria apply criteria
• Am I willing to invest in improvement? feedback
  retreats process observer
• Am I willing to model the behaviors that the
  Board values? consensus building?
  starting/finishing on time? moving the agenda
  forward?
• What is the current relationship among the Chair,
  CEO, board? What should it be?

6
Effective Boards/Meetings

• Contextual characteristics
• Mission, vision, values, strategic plan
• Educational/ training characteristics
• Training, retreats, role counterparts,
  self-assessment
• Interpersonal characteristics
• Inclusion, pairing, grooming, CEO partner,
  monitor health and morale of organization
• Strategic characteristics
• Strategic issues/plans drive agenda and work,
  monitor Board time and attention
• Consider CEO Workshops if private meetings are
  not allowed for preliminary deliberations

7
The Chairyes, you are responsible

• Chair as Chair
• Chair as Organizer
• Chair as Facilitator
• meeting progress team development conflict
  management power struggles always arrives
  early reflects group process not self pacing
  observes encourages seeks contributions
  clarifies, summarizes

8
Roles and Responsibilities

• CEO
• always arrives early handles facility acts as
  resource
• secretary corporate memory
• Board Members
• as Participants
• as Colleagues
• as Team Members (contract between chair and
  members)
• understand group process

9
Norms/Ground Rules?

• Arrive on time
• Be informed come prepared
• Participate ask questions give opinions
• Never make personal comments about someone be
  respectful, trusting, caring
• Board business in front of Board personal
  business outside
• Focus on ideas and issues, not people
• Be honest communicate authentically
• Comment succinctly and on topic
• Allow others to finish speaking
• Seek first to understand
• Assist the chair whenever possible follow-up
  tasks
• Summarize what has been accomplished
• Finish on time

10
Explore Alternatives

• Committee meetings Governance Planning and
  Policy Audit
• Copies of minutes/letters/reports posted on Web
  site
• Weekly bulletins/newsletters
• Brown bag lunches/suppers
• Electronic communication teleconferences
  e-mail round robin memos wikis blogs
• Telephone calls informal conversations
  (a)synchronous chat
• Voice mail for board members
• Executive summaries

11
The Facility

• Plan seating, ventilation, lighting, temperature,
  equipment
• Board table? Horseshoe/U-shape?
• Head table? Seating of CEO?
• Gallery observers, guests (seating and materials)

12
Meeting Goals

• What do we want to accomplish? Put it in writing.
• Is this meeting necessary?
• Alternatives?

13
Essential Components

• Consent Agenda
• Ground Rules
• Demarcated Agenda
• Self-reflection
• Process Observer

14
The Agenda Construction

• Belongs to the Chair starts mid-point between
  meetings in consultation
• Cluster critical items information decision
  (rank ordered) exploration (rank ordered)
• Disseminated to those affected with all
  supporting materials (minutes reports related
  to decisions required) in advance on the meeting
  week in advance
• Plan on one and a half to two and a half hours
  (law of two feet)

15
The Agenda Contents

• Committee reports standards format one sheet
  maximum
• No oral reports (what part of n o do you not
  understand?)
• Consider color coding material
• Last item Issues for Next Agenda
• Private/Executive/In-camera session at beginning
  or end of regular meeting

16
Consent Agenda

• Chairs Determines Board Decides
• Remember agenda belongs to meeting
• Levels of Implementation
• Cluster all reports questions allowed
• List all items questions only if removed
• Information only or and recommendations and
  actions contained therein
• implications

17
Focus on the Process

• Articulate at beginning of meeting ground rules
  organization of agenda
• At beginning of item how much time shall we
  allocate? When will you take questions?
• Keep to topic help me understand how your
  comments address this topic

18
Effective Decision-Making

• Requires information, options, recommendations,
  right people present, preparation, participation
• Common form and format, e.g., SOPPADA
• Reflect Rhythms information easy decisions
  more difficult decisions discussion items (play
  time) easy decisions

19
Interactive Meetings

• Plan for interaction
• pairs identify issues
• points of agreements
• signals for accept, can live with, cannot accept

20
Constructive Conflict

• Substantive differences lead to better decisions,
  increased commitment, mutual respect,
  follow-through
• Norms and tools for testing assumptions and
  conflict management
• Worst conflict avoidance decisions by chair
  decisions by most vocal personalization all
  lead to apathy, balkanization, poor decisions
• Issue conflict management

21
Process Problems

• Group think (develop a culture of constructive
  skepticism)
• Blocking, power-seeking, recognition-seeking,
  dominating, clowning
• Late arrivals

22
Sample Agenda

• 1. Introductory Remarks (state objectives and
  time)
• Optional information/announcements forum-10
  minutes
• 2. Approval of the Agenda
• 3. Consent Agenda
• Approval by consent one motion
• No discussion unless item removed
• All information items, including minutes
• All non-controversial reports
• All non-controversial decision items
• List and number all items include a staff name
  or Board name and voice/e-mail information for
  contact
• - mission statement -

23
Sample Agenda 2

• 4. For Discussion/Decision
• written documents only
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 5. For Exploration
• at least one item on each agenda use Board
  members as facilitators
• 1.
• 2.
• 6. Items for Next Agenda
• 7. Private Session
• - mission statement -

24
The Minutes

• Decisions made and actions taken only
• Who is responsible for action and by what date?
• Pending list
• Tracking list (track disposition of decisions)
• Work flows from priorities and decisions

25
Dissemination

• Announce meetings, including date, time and
  location
• Post agendas (print and electronic)
• Post minutes (print and electronic)
• Your Public Profileyour Web site is likely
  incomplete and out of date

26
Self-Assessment

• Criteria useful satisfying fun
• Process observer
• Checklists I and we
• each ground rule seek clarification opinions
  welcomed and respected summarize progress and
  decisions encourage others support others
  listen attentively
• never occasionally often
• Identify corporate beliefs (always been this
  way) and challenge
• Annual Reviews Process and Outcomes

27
Bottom Line

• How will the quality of life in our community
  have been improved as a result of our meeting
  here tonight?

28
To your success

• Sometimes you feel awkward about asking a
  question
• Sometimes there isnt time
• Sometimes you think about something later
• Dr. Ken Haycock
• ken_at_kenhaycock.com
• cell 408.207.8123