Meetings that Work: Effective Meeting Basics

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• Meetings that WorkEffective Meeting Basics

Presented by YOUR NAME HERE
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Effective Meetings

• Workshop Outline
• Introductions, ground rules
• Meeting Preparation
• Facilitating Meetings
• Meeting Follow Up
• Wrap up Evaluation

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Introductions

• Questions
• Name and organization
• What brought you here today?
• What do you want out of todays workshops?
• What is your favourite weekend activity?

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Roberts Rules Agenda

• Many organizations use this model for agendas
• Call to order
• Roll call of members present
• Reading of minutes of last meeting
• Officers reports
• Committee reports
• Special orders --- Important business previously
  designated for consideration at this meeting
• Unfinished business
• New business
• Announcements
• Adjournment

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Sample Agenda
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Sample Agenda

• The Community Co-operative Inc
• Board of Directors Meeting
• Location Gails House 2 Lakeshore Dr.
• Sunday April 25, 2pm 330pm
• Proposed Agenda
• Approval of Minutes from last meeting
• Incorporation status - update
• Policies
• Review conflict of interest policy final draft
• New Board Members
• Review applications
• New Business
• Next Meeting
• Adjournment

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Brainstorming

• Use Brainstorming to
• generate a bunch of ideas quickly using free
  thinking
• get everyones input
• encourage creativity and flexibility
• create energy in a group
• allow people to put ideas out there without fear
  of being corrected or challenged
• separate generating ideas from evaluating ideas

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Brainstorming

• Principles of Brainstorming
• All ideas are welcome
• All ideas are written down
• There is no editing or censoring of ideas
• Ideas can be new or build on other ideas
• There are no bad ideas

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Brainstorming How to

• Introduce the topic
• Allow some quiet time for thinking
• Ask people to say their ideas, letting them flow
• Have people saying things as they come to mind
• Facilitator writes them down on flip chart for
  all to see
• What if money and time were no object?
• What do you wish we could do 10 years from now?
• Begin Sorting Ideas
• Explore ideas in detail
• Combine like ideas that are simply worded
  differently
• Sort ideas into solutions using decision grids,
  mutli voting etc
• Create action plan(s)

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Consensus Process

• Discussion
• Proposal
• Test for Consensus
• Address any concerns
• Modification
• Decision
• Participant Options
• Active Support
• Passive Support
• Stand Aside
• Block

From http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decis
ion-making
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Roberts Rules of Order

• For Fair and Orderly Meetings Conventions
• Provides common rules and procedures for
  deliberation and debate in order to place the
  whole membership on the same footing and speaking
  the same language.
• The conduct of ALL business is controlled by the
  general will of the whole membership - the right
  of the deliberate majority to decide.
• Complementary is the right of at least a strong
  minority to require the majority to be deliberate
  - to act according to its considered judgment
  AFTER a full and fair "working through" of the
  issues involved.

From www.robertsrules.org
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Roberts Rules of Order

• Robert's Rules provides for constructive and
  democratic meetings, to help, not hinder, the
  business of the assembly.
• Under no circumstances should "undue strictness"
  be allowed to intimidate members or limit full
  participation.
• The fundamental right of deliberative assemblies
  require all questions to be thoroughly discussed
  before taking action!
• The assembly rules - they have the final say on
  everything!
• Silence means consent!

From www.robertsrules.org
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Roberts Rules of Order

• Debate can not begin until the Chair has stated
  the motion or resolution and asked "are you ready
  for the question?"
• Before the motion is stated by the Chair (the
  question) members may suggest modification of the
  motion
• The "immediately pending question" is the last
  question stated by the Chair! Motion/Resolution -
  Amendment - Motion to Postpone
• No member can speak twice to the same issue until
  everyone else wishing to speak has spoken to it
  once!

From www.robertsrules.org
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Roberts Rules of Order

• All remarks must be directed to the Chair.
  Remarks must be courteous in language and
  deportment - avoid all personalities, never
  allude to others by name or to motives!
• The agenda and all committee reports are merely
  recommendations! When presented to the assembly
  and the question is stated, debate begins and
  changes occur!

From www.robertsrules.org
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Minute Taking

• Minutes should
• be accurate, brief and clear
• record issues discussed
• record decisions taken and any action required
• be written in the past tense and third person
• correspond to the agenda as far as possible

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Sample Minutes

• Sample of Board Meeting MinutesName of
  Organization(Board Meeting Minutes Month Day,
  Year)(time and location)
• Board MembersPresent Sam Jaques, Dorothy Ash,
  Bill Robinson, Haji Nakam, and
• Melissa Swanson, Justin Porter, Zach Smith
• Absent Sheila JohnsonQuorum present?
  YesOthers PresentExec. Director Susan Johns
  Proceedings Meeting called to order at 700
  p.m. by Chair, Sam Jaques (Last month's)
  meeting minutes were amended and approved

.continued
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Sample Minutes

• Chief Executive's Report
• Recommends that if we not able to find a new
  facility by the end of this month, the
  organization should stay where in the current
  location over the winter. After brief discussion,
  Board agreed.
• Swanson mentioned that staff member, Sheila
  Philip's husband is ill and in the hospital.
• MOTION to send a gift to Philip's husband,
  expressing the organization's sympathy and
  support seconded and passed.
• Finance Committee report provided by Chair,
  Dorothy Ash
• Ash reviewed highlights, trends and issues from
  the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow
  statement. Issues include that high accounts
  receivables require Finance Committee attention
  to policies and procedures to ensure our
  organization receives more payments on time.
  MOTION to accept financial statements seconded
  and passed.

.continued
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Sample Minutes

• Board Development Committee's report provided by
  Chair, Bill Robinson
• Robinson reminded the Board of the scheduled
  retreat coming up in three months, and provided a
  drafted retreat schedule for board review.
• MOTION to accept the retreat agenda seconded and
  passed.
• Other business
• Porter noted that he was working with staff
  member, Jacob Smith, to help develop an
  information management systems plan, and that two
  weeks ago he (Porter) had mailed members three
  resumes from consultants to help with the plan.
  In the mailing, Porter asked members for their
  opinions to help select a consultant. Porter
  asked members for their opinions. (NOTE Swanson
  noted that she was also a computer consultant and
  was concerned about conflict of interest in her
  Board role regarding this selection, and asked to
  be ABSTAINED from this selection. Members
  agreed.) The majority of members agreed on
  Lease-or-Buy Consultants.
• MOTION to use Lease-or-Buy Consultants seconded
  and passed

.continued
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Sample Minutes

• Assessment of the Meeting
• Nakama noted that the past three meetings have
  run over the intended two-hour time slot by half
  an hour. He asked members to be more mindful and
  focused during discussions, and suggested that
  the Board Development Chair take an action to
  identify solutions to this issue. Chair, Jacques,
  agreed.
• Meeting adjourned at 930 p.m.
• Minutes submitted by Secretary, Zack Smith.

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Thank you!

• For information on other workshops
• NORTHWATCH
• Box 282 North Bay, ON P1B 8H2
• Tel [phone] Fax [phone]
• northwatch_at_onlink.net www.northwatch.org
• www.northeastforest.net