Module 4 Resource Sheets

Major Sections

Board & Staff...Who Does What

Goal:  To improve board-staff relationships by coming to consensus on who has primary responsibility for various organizational tasks.
Suggestions:  Read each task and determine who has primary responsibility for doing it; write a 1 in that column. If someone in that group has strong secondary responsibility, or the task/decision shouldn't be made without input from them, put a 2 in that column.
 

FUNCTION/TASK

RESPONSIBILITY 1 - Primary 2 - Secondary/Input and Assistance

PLANNING Determine basic organizational purpose and goals. Determine which community needs should be met and to what extent. Determine categories of service to be provided. Develop long-range plans for the organization. Develop programs to meet identified needs. Set specific program objectives. Establish funding level needed to run organization. Develop program evaluation system.  POLICY  Provides background information necessary for policy decisions. Gives input to policy. Makes policy.  FUND RAISING  Develop fund raising plan Develop funding sources Solicit funds and other sources Evaluate fund raising success  FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT  Prepare agency budget Monitor how funds are spent on a day to day basis. Monitors total funding picture. Hire a CPA for annual audit. Do bookkeeping  PERSONNEL Develop agency personnel policies. Recruit, screen, hire, supervise, and terminate: executive director paid staff board members direct-service volunteers  Provide training and development opportunities for: executive director paid staff board members direct service volunteers Develops evaluation procedures and evaluates the performance of: executive director paid staff board members direct service volunteers PUBLIC RELATIONS  Develop a formal public relations plan Implement the public relations plan Serve on the boards of other community agencies Maintain contact with state, regional, and national organizations with similar interests Establish method of assessing management practices which impact 'internal' public relations  BOARD RECRUITMENT  Develop board nominating procedures Suggest potential members to the nominating committee Develop board orientation and training  Board Executive Director/ Admin. Staff

Trost, A. and J. Rauner. 1983. Worksheet 15: Board & staff...Who does what? In Gaining Momentum for Board Action.

Marlborough Publications, 5274 Marlborough Drive, San Diego, CA 92116. Reprinted with permission.

By-laws

Goal:  To provide a sample format which can be used by the By-laws committee

Suggestions:  Use this worksheet to review your own by-laws. These components are standard with most organizations but you may want to adapt them to fit your own needs.
 

	We have this	Need to revise	Need to add
Article:   Name of the Organization (exactly as written in the corporate charter granted by the state) Purpose of the Organization Membership Eligibility (Who may be a member) Types of membership (Voting, non-voting, active, honorary, student, etc.) Resignation and reinstatement procedures Board of Directors Composition Officers (President, Pres.-elect, vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer) Other board members (number, how many elected and how many appointed, ex-officio)  Terms of office (how long board members and officers serve) Nomination and election procedure Nominating committee (method of selection, number of members, when they must present their recommendations) Elections (when held, how conducted, filling vacancies, removal, Board rotation)  Duties and Powers (of the Board and of individual members of the Board) Board Committees List standing committees and authorize ad hoc committees as deemed necessary by the board. Usual standing committees are those which must function year-round in order to sustain the organization, e.g., Executive Bd.: finance resource development: membership program. Appointment method (state that committee chairs serve at the pleasure of the president$or are elected by the board) Term of office Chairperson Vacancies (filling) and removal of committee members Membership meetings Regular membership meetings (number per year, method of notification) Annual meeting. (Specify when held. State purpose: to elect officers, adopt programs and budget, and other business as determined.) Voting (state number for quorum; whether proxies or voting by mail is allowed) Special meetings (specify when they may be called, by whom, and for what types of purposes, and manner of notification)  Board meetings Number of regular Board meetings and method of notification  Special Board meetings and method of notification Quorum (number of Board members required to legally transact business) Compensation (statement that no compensation is allowed, or that expenses will be reimbursed Financial Administration Fiscal year (when it begins) Dues (if required for membership) when paid Budget (when submitted) Contracts, checks, deposits and funds (who/how many may sign checks, authorize contracts, accept gifts on behalf of the organization, authorize investments) Amendments State how by-laws are amended; number of members needed to pass by-laws changes; amount and type of notice of proposed changes; if voting must be at a meeting or can be done by mail. Parliamentary Authority (this does NOT have to be a part of the by-laws: if it is, it must be followed at all meetings) Dissolution (state that would happen if the corporation should dissolve: how funds and other resources would be distributed to whom: who has the power to make the decision to dissolve: notification of intention to dissolve)

Trost, A. and J. Rauner. 1983. Appendix: By-laws. In Gaining Momentum for Board Action.

Marlborough Publications, 5274 Marlborough Drive, San Diego, CA 92116. Reprinted with permission.

NEW COMMITTEE PURPOSE STATEMENT WORKSHEET

The core purpose of our new committee is:

Operational Questions:
 

1. How will we make decisions?

 
2. What method will we use to get our work done?

 
3. How will we make sure everyone has a chance to discuss issues or raise concerns?

 
4. How will we resolve differences?

 
5. How will we change things that aren't producing the desired results?

 
6. How will we ensure the completion of our work?

 

How to Run an Effective Meeting

Do these sound familiar?

"Why do we even bother with those same old staff meetings? Sure, there's an agenda, but the meeting always ends up being a complete waste of my time. While I have to sit through an hour of people complaining and gossiping, I could have been doing something productive."

"We should've had boxing gloves and whistles at that meeting. Did you see the way that Matt got torn apart by Sue? That poor moderator had no control of the situation. And I thought there was going to be a serious brawl if John didn't stop talking. What a disaster"but it was fun to watch!"

These are scenarios that you may have encountered at meetings you've attended or led. It is these types of situations that prevent us from gaining or producing value from meetings we attend or plan. The Support Center of San Francisco has developed a comprehensive checklist for "Running an Effective Meeting" that will guide you step-by-step in planning and facilitating a successful meeting, from creating an effective agenda, clarifying roles and responsibilities of all the players and promoting successful meeting processes, to ensuring quality decision making and problem solving after the meeting. Also included is a thorough review of techniques and considerations for meeting facilitators. Next time you "take a meeting, "either as a participant or facilitator, use these checklists as your map for an effective meeting process.
 

RUNNING AN EFFECTIVE MEETING CHECKLIST

• There is sufficient pre-meeting planning
• The purpose of the meeting is clearly defined.
• Meeting as a group is the appropriate means of accomplishing the defined purpose.
• The meeting planners should consider the context in which the meeting will be held.
• Major participants are identified and these stakeholders' expectations and needs have been identified.
• Based on partcipants' needs, outcomes for the meeting are clarified.
• The roles of facilitator, chair, recorder, and participants have all been assigned.
• There is agreement on how decisions will be made. If the decision-making method is consensus, a fall back decision-making process is defined ahead of time.
• Thought is given to a room setup that facilitates communications.
• There is agreement on what kind of record of the meeting is desired and who will be responsible for sending those minutes out to participants.
• Potential problems and possible strategies for preventing those problems from happening are identified.
• In order to ensure that participants and leader/facilitator are well prepared, make a list of materials that need to be brought to the meeting and a list of additional issues that need to be addressed before the actual meeting.
• There are agreed-upon starting and ending times.
• A tentative agenda with a list of topics, time allocated, and who is responsible for each item is distributed ahead of time. (See sample "Notice of Meeting" and "Agenda Topic Request.")
• The agenda, along with meeting outcomes, is agreed upon at the beginning of the meeting.
• The agenda allows time to discuss topics adequately and complete all discussions within the time allotted.

Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities for the Meeting

• Roles are clearly understood and assigned to appropriate individuals.
• Facilitating the meeting (see box)
• Participating
• Recording information
• Making decisions
• The meeting leader (chair) contributes ideas but does not dominate.
• Everyone in the meeting participates.
• Participants, chair, and facilitator all share responsibility for success of the meeting: everyone is a "facilitative" group member.

Promoting and Successful Meeting Processes

• Attention is paid to both the processes (how) and the content (what) of the meeting.
• There are suggested processes (approaches) for addressing each agenda item. The group agrees upon the process(es) for approaching a problem and discussing a topic. Process battles are avoided.
• Basic ground rules to avoid problems during the meeting are presented and agreed upon. These meeting agreements might include
• listen as an ally
• no side conversations
• succinct statements/keep to the point
• focus on issues, not personalities (focus on the proposal, not the proposer)
• no interruptions
• okay to disagree - constructively
• participate fully
• work to create decisions you can support
• Starting and ending times are adhered to.
• A variety of facilitative techniques are used to ensure a successful meeting. These techniques include behaviors that can be used at the beginning and during a meeting to prevent problems from happening, and behaviors to intervene if a problem occurs/to get the group back on tract. (See "Facilitative Techniques for Meeting Leaders.")

Ensuring Quality Decision Making and Problem Solving

• Key "stakeholders" are well represented and involved in the decision-making process. This would include
• Final decision makers
• People who will be affected by the decision
• People with the power to block or assist the decision being implemented.
• Clarify in advance who and how decisions are to be made. Those involved in the decision-making process should know in advance whether they have the power actually to make the decision or whether they are being asked for their input.
• If consensus is used as a decision-making method, a fall back method is clearly understood and agreed upon in advance.
• When doing problem solving, adequate time is spend defining, agreeing on, and analyzing the problem before looking at solutions.
• After decision is made, a plan for implementation, monitoring, and evaluating the solution(s) is prepared.

Guaranteeing Successful Follow-Through and Effective Future Meetings

• The meeting ends by reviewing next steps, by when, and those responsible for accomplishing the task.
• Responsibility for accomplishing a task is never assigned to a committee. Responsibility is assigned to one person working with a group of individuals. This person is known as the "prime mover."

• The meeting is evaluated. Participants review what made for a successful meeting and what changes they would recommend for the future.

 

• Notes are written up and distributed to all participants and those absent from the meeting.

 

Facilitative Techniques for Meeting Leaders

• Ensure that introductions and expectations are given at the beginning of the meeting.
• Do adequate preparation before the meeting, including
• Clarify outcomes/what will success look like at the end of the meeting
• Make sure the right people will be at the meeting (all stakeholders or their representatives)
• Prepare an agenda with topics, process, time, and who is responsible for the topic
• Distribute the agenda ahead of time.
• Post the agenda on the wall at the beginning of the.
• At the beginning of the meeting, check for agreement and understanding of the meeting's time frame, agenda, and outcomes.
• Clarify and get agreement on your role. Are you going to be a neutral facilitator, or are you going to be a facilitative leader (both participating and facilitating the meeting).
• Clarify who will be doing the recording/keeping the group memory.
• Consider having a back-up recorder if the ideas start to come fast during brainstorming or if as a facilitative leader you want to participate more actively in the discussion and need someone else to pay attention to the meeting process(es).
• Clarify in advance who is going to prepare a brief and clearly written summary of the meeting or type up all the meeting minutes.
• Get agreement/suggest some "commitments to help make for a successful meeting" (ground rules). You might want to start the meeting by getting the group to list some agreements to make for a successful meeting, and record them on a large piece of paper displayed as a reminder for the group during the meeting. Let the group come up with their own ground rules, but you may suggest one or two to get the ball rolling. These commitments/ground rules might include
• listen as an ally
• no side conversations
• succinct statements/keep to the point
• focus on issues, not personalities (focus on the proposal, not the proposer)
• no interruptions
• okay to disagree - constructively
• participate fully
• work to create decisions you can support
• Make suggestions (and get agreement) on how to proceed/the process to be used for each topic. (For example: "Let's brainstorm a list of the major changes you see occurring in your community...").
• Make sure all participants understand the rules of brainstorming. The objective of brainstorming is to come up with as many ideas as possible within the time allowed:
• all ideas are okay
• during brainstorming, please defer evaluation/judgments
• build on others' ideas
• creativity is encouraged.
After the list of ideas is generated, ask if any ideas need clarification. ("Does anyone have any questions about any of these ideas that have been listed?")
• Ask open-ended questions when appropriate. ("Do you know what an open-ended question is?" versus "What is an open-ended question?")
• Be positive. ("Great!" "Good!" "Thank you!" "I know this is an important and difficult issue. I'm sure we can make sure everyone has a chance to give their opinion and come up with a list we are all willing to live with and support.")
• Take breaks regularly - the average attention/sitting span is about 50 minutes long.
• Define consensus: a decision everyone is willing to live with and support; not to be confused with a unanimous decision.
• Use open body-language. (Don't facilitate with your arms crossed or both hands in your pockets.
• Encourage participation. ("Anyone not have a chance to speak?" "Before I call on those who have already spoken, let's hear from those who haven't given an idea yet.")
• Consider the use of round-robin to encourage everyone to speak: go around in a circle, and have everyone make one comment; people have the option of passing; at the end of the round-robin, go back to those who have passed and ask if they have anything to add.
• Engage in active listening (repeating what you have heard, Trying to use the participant's words as much as possible).
• Don't be afraid to make and admit to mistakes. "I'm sorry that I didn't record what you said.") And most importantly - don't be defensive!
• If you are both facilitating and participating, it is important that you do not dominate the meeting, and are able to maintain your neutrality. If you need to participate actively in a particular discussion, clearly change your role to that of participant and not facilitator. (You may want to ask someone else to take your place as the facilitator for the remainder of the discussion, sit down, and make your statements.)
• Remember, if you are the "facilitative leader," your primary role is to facilitate the meeting, not participate. And if you are a neutral facilitator, you have an agreement with the group not to participate.
• Use a technique called "boomerang"--turn the questions back to the participant or the group. (Participant: "This isn't working for me." Facilitator: "What's not working for you? Do you have a suggestion as to what to do instead?")
• Continually try to maintain/regain focus. Use posted agenda/written questions and group memory to get the group back on track.
• Say what's going on. ("It looks like everyone really needs a break. Why don't we just finish up this list and then take a five-minute stretch break?")
• Avoid process battles. ("Why don't we just try to finish listing the major changes you see in your community before discussing strategies you may use to take advantage of opportunities and overcome potential threats.")
• Remind people of the meeting ground rules and other agreements (such as outcomes of discussion, limited time to accomplish given task, listen as an ally, etc.)
• Use humor.
• Use body language (e.g., focus people back on the topic by pointing to the question being discussed).
• Remind people to focus on issues, not personalities (also known as: focus on the proposal, not the proposer).
• Acknowledge/legitimize people's concerns. Deal with these concerns immediately or defer to a different time. "Bin" an item if it is off track and come back to it at an appropriate time. Make sure you do address the concern at the appropriate time, or agree on how and when it is best discussed.
• Use a simple prioritizing tool called N/3. Take a number of ideas, divide by 3 and give that number of votes per participant. This is a process to get a sense of which ideas the group is most in agreement about. It is not a final decision-making tool.
• Exercise flexibility.

Action Planning Worksheet