Tertiary Education Management Conference 2006

What makes a good committee?

M Gillett, L Rhind & J Till

What Makes A Good Committee?

• Maureen Gillett (UWS)

• Lorraine Rhind (University of Sydney)

• Jennifer Till (UNSW)

ALL members of the ATEM NSW Branch Committee

A Common Assumption

“A committee of one gets things done.”

JOE RYAN

Some Definitions

• What is a meeting ?

• What are committees? Informal and formal

• What roles can you play on a committee?

Purposes of committees

• WHY are committees used to solve problems and achieve outcomes? Committees CAN work!

• WHY do we spend so much time in meetings?

• HOW do you know what the purpose of your committee is?

“We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed but to those who have differed.”

C. C. COLTON

The Key to good committees

First and foremost:

THE CHAIRPERSON !

“I don’t believe in just ordering people to do things. You have to sort of grab an oar and row with them.” HAROLD GREEN

Some personal experiences..

Source: Cartoons by Sam Smith, Cartoonist in Just a minute? A guide to committee servicing. Jean Grier, 2001. Good Practice Series number 26,The Association of University Administration

Overcoming the bad chairperson

• How do you tell if a chairperson is not ‘performing’?

• What can YOU do about this, no matter what your role on the committee is?

Painting a picture: the Good Chairperson

• be a positive and communicative leader (inside and outside of meetings)

• control the meeting, particularly when discussions go off track or become heated

• be able to deal with members lack of commitment and direction, apathy (outside of meetings),

Painting a picture: the Good Chairperson cont…

• ensure all members points of view are given equal time for adequate discussion,

• draw out the quieter members and encourages all members to participate and comment on all issues to provide a learning and developmental environment,

Some personal experiences…

Source: Cartoons by Sam Smith, Cartoonist in Just a minute? A guide to committee servicing. Jean Grier, 2001. Good Practice Series number 26,The Association of University Administration

The benefits of a good committeeexperience

• Benefits in achieving outcomes

• Benefits to the individuals involved in the committee

Some personal experiences….

Source: Cartoons by Sam Smith, Cartoonist in Just a minute? A guide to committee servicing. Jean Grier, 2001. Good Practice Series number 26,The Association of University Administration

What YOU can do to make sure your committees’ work makes a

difference

Before Meetings

During Meetings

After meetings

YOUR committee experiences?

• Formal and informal

• The benefits of sharing and discussing these experiences

• The benefits of PRACTICE being on committees – work committees, volunteer committees

I want to know MORE!

Best Practice guides - Just a minute? A guide to committee servicing by Jean Grier. Good Practice Series number 26, The Association of University Administrators, 2001.

Horsley’s Meetings Procedure, Law and Practice by W John Taggart, 3rd Edition, Butterworths 1989.

Contact the administrator responsible for the academic secretariat in your university to find out what sort of advice is available.

JOIN informal and formal committees both work related and volunteer – learn from experience and become an expert!

In summary: A suggestion kit

Obtain a list of the committee members and their job titles and backgrounds. Ensure you know when and where the first meeting will take place. Turn up at least ten minutes early so you

can relax and re-read the agenda and minutes. If you cannot attend any meeting, nominate a replacement member on the committee. Remember, as an

invited member, it is your responsibility (and not your delegates) to take the necessary action on any follow-up items.

Provide agenda items prior to the agenda being circulated. Most agendas will be circulated no later than one week prior to the meeting.

Take your diary to every meeting, just in case future meetings for the rest of the year have to be re-organised.

Make sure your name is recorded on the attendance list . Ensure you have read the agenda and the minutes, and taken necessary actions prior to the meeting. Before the chair approves the minutes, make sure you put forward any changes.

MORE …??FUN Finally and most importantly, make sure you enjoy and learn from the experience of

working with staff in other disciplines, divisions, schools or colleges.

“That, my son, is where they store all the minutes of all the last meetings.”

Thank You!!!!

Tertiary Education Management Conference 2006

Lunch

Please reconvene at 2pm on Level 3, Ballroom A/ Ante (adjacent to the Trade Exhibition)