Why have the five most feared words in business today become: “Congratulations, you’re the new chair”? Chairing a meeting properly can be the determining factor in the success of many aspects within your company, yet so many committees fail from the onset because of the lack of leadership from the chair. Committees that I’ve seen fail have done so because the chair did not apply the “art” of leadership, instead relying on principles that may or may not work.
Throughout my career I have had the honour and privilege of chairing committees at local, provincial, national and international levels. My successes in these endeavours came from using these three simple but artful leadership techniques, which will always work if you apply them consistently.
A clear and concise terms-of-reference (TOR) document is an absolute necessity and will save you every time. I continue to sit on many committees today that do not have a terms of reference – and oddly enough, those are the same committees that have no real direction or purpose.
Your TOR should specify what the mandate of the committee is, what the structure should look like, which positions are filled by what person and finally what the overall purpose of the committee is. The beauty of a properly executed TOR is that it only has to be two to three pages long. If it is any longer than that, then you’ve gotten caught up in too much detail. Without a clear and concise TOR document, people will question the reason for attending the meeting or simply lose interest and not show up. Don’t waste people’s time, as most have better ways to spend their day.
My greatest pet peeve is committee meetings that run on too long or fail to address topics that are critical for success. Sir or Madam Chairperson, this one is fully and totally your responsibility.
Review the agenda of the meeting before the meetings starts. Understand the key points that need to be addressed and spoken to and assign time parameters to those topics. Once the meeting is underway, keep your group focused on the business captured within the agenda. Don’t be afraid to stop people from talking if they are rambling, missing the point or jumping ahead to an item that is four items ahead. As you are in a public setting, make sure you cut people off tactfully and professionally, so as not to create a boardroom standoff. If all else fails, keep a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order handy and quote sections when applicable. My personal favourite is allowing a first-time speaker to make a point before another is on their third.
This is an area that is overlooked but is very important to understand as a chair. The “good ideas club” is that one or two people in each committee environment that continually move new items forward or challenge direction of meetings. They often work in pairs or small groups because they are from similar industries, are friends outside the committee or feel that they could do a better job at chairing the committee then you can.
The points coming from the “good ideas club” are not necessarily for the benefit of the committee but rather are generally for self-interest or personal agenda. The common theme is that they do not have the best interests for the project or mission in mind, so be mindful when they speak at a meeting. These are also the committee members that tend to hijack meetings, so please apply technique No. 2 accordingly. And remember, good ideas club members can also have good ideas, so recognize these merits when they do.
People are so busy in today’s corporate and private sectors that they do not have time for sitting in a half-day meeting that produces nothing. Review your current standing committees and see if there is purpose or value to them. If there isn’t, and your people have been attending endless meetings accomplishing nothing, then disband and discard.
There is great purpose and value for committees. They solve problems, provide guidance and lead to success. So if you’re the chair, do it artfully and you will be respected and successful.
Cam Kowalski is a career security professional who was in charge of aviation security control planning for both the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the G8 and G20 summits for the RCMP. He is also president of Jetstream Management Group, a Vancouver-based leadership development and project management consulting company. Follow Cam on Twitter @jetstreamteam
