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Working Together
Secrets of an effective board.
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I know why they call it the board, Daddy," said an insightful 8-year-old. "It's because the meetings are so boring!" For people accustomed to an action-oriented society, a group that sits for hours to debate issues and takes months to make decisions does sound less than appealing. And it probably is if all it does is talk. We need to move from words to action. Agendas that are effectiveThe traditional board agenda looks something like this:
In my experience, this agenda often hinders effective discussion and decision making. Two principles of group meetings offer an explanation of that failure: The Principle of Available Energy. A well-known proverb describes the universal principle of energy in meetings: "Deacons debate from seven to eight." When people come to a meeting, they want to dig into meaty issues. The energy level is high for about an hour before it begins to drop. Therefore, if the meeting begins at seven, minds won't grasp subtle differences as well after eight. Second-hour decisions will receive less than the full attention of the group. By the third hour, only sheer dedication and persistence keep a board on its task. Sawyer's Law of Meetings: Matters brought up first receive the most time and attention, whether deserved or not. This second principle is related to the first but goes a step further. Because of the available energy, groups have a tendency to talk longest and with greatest vigor about the first issue presented at the meeting. If the first item is whether to buy a five-dollar wastebasket for the church lounge, there will be ample debate of the merits of metal versus wicker baskets. Probing questions will be asked, such as where it will be placed, who will empty it, what kinds of waste will be allowed to be placed in it, and whatever happened to that nice basket Mrs. Jones bought for the church back in 1902. Such discussion appears to be a waste of the creative energy of the highest governing body of our beloved congregation. Yet, without realizing it's happening, groups often fall into the trap described by Sawyer's Law. After the available energy is drained away by discussing reports and minutes and letters from denominational executives (and wastebaskets, where some of the just-mentioned reports frequently are filed), the board gets to the agenda item in which a decision must be made about offering a Bible study for people who are mentally-handicapped. Is there any wonder that the ensuing discussion is fuzzy, lifeless, and prone to be postponed? A flexible agenda answers the problem. I suggest throwing the standard agenda in the new wastebasket and resolving to utilize the operating principle dictated by our human frame. Whoever sets the agenda ought to be free to schedule the most important, most complex, or even the most controversial issues during the first hour of the meeting. |             |
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