Most officiating associations are filled with busy people. Leaders owe their members valuable training and pertinent information delivered in a concise way. If your meetings are running long, look at the following time-wasters to see where you can improve.
• Meetings don’t begin on schedule. Whether two or 20 people have arrived, begin the meeting as scheduled. People arriving on time should not be penalized. Once latecomers realize the scheduled meeting time is the actual starting time, there will be a dramatic improvement in attendance.
• Members come unprepared. The president should share expectations with members on being prepared to take action at meetings. Unprepared members will lose the opportunity to speak on issues being discussed. A gentle reminder may be needed that information distributed in advance of a meeting is to enable members to prepare themselves for the issues, This will make an impact at future meetings.
• Attention is on the detail, not the issue. The president should offer members training so they become accustomed to drafting policy statements, reading budgets, etc.
• Revising recommendations received from committees. All members should hold each other accountable for determining if a committee recommendation is ready for action. If not, then it should be returned to the committee with expectations for revisions rather than edits.
• When conflict occurs, members often take it personally. Members should be reminded that they are not personally being evaluated; it is the statement. Frequently the statement that gets the most reaction is the one that generates the most effective results. Conflicting opinions often provide the groundwork for a successful solution.
• Energy spent protecting “turf” rather than what is best for the organization. When it becomes difficult to let go of what appears to be important to an individual member, step back and review the needs of the organization as a whole. That serves to focus on the role members, which is to do what is best for the entire organization.
• Members disrupt meetings with side conversations. Side conversations are not disruptive unless they are intrusive to the meeting. The president should set out the ground rules, or use parliamentary procedure, to bring the group back in focus. Members can support the president by policing themselves during the meeting.
• Reports or recommendations are made without supporting documentation. Establish standard procedures for preparing and delivering reports, making recommendations or requesting appropriations. These procedures should outline the objective to be achieved, the method by which to achieve it, the justification for its need and the financial impact, thereby enabling the association to have all the facts necessary to make an informed decision. |
