Empowering board and effective committees

Effective Committees

Presented by

Majid ShabbirSecretary General

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry


• Empowering Board and Secretariat and delegating authorities?

• Why a Committee?

• Basic Components of Effective Committees

• Characteristics of Effective Committee Chair

Objectives


• Who and how the Board and Secretariat can be empowered to perform efficiently and effectively ?

• Orientation of Board

• When President/Chairman decides to stop micromanagement.

Empowering Board and Secretariat and delegating

authorities?


• Presidents role should be visionary.

• Grooming and capacity building of Board members and employees

• Board needs to appoint committees for strategic actions, and empower staff for implementation.

Empowering Board and Secretariat and delegating

authorities?


Breakout Session I

• What is an effective Board?• What are the benefits of

effective Board and Secretariat?

• How staff should be empowered to accomplish the assigned task ?


• Carry out work of the organization

• Represent, involve, and serve members

• Provide training ground for future leaders of the organization

Why Committees?


Group/Team

Communication

Contribution

Trust

Acceptance

Creativity

Appreciation

Collaboration Cycle


How do you form Committees?


Composition

Agenda

ResourcesKPIs

Self EvaluationPerformance

Cycles of Effective

Committees


• Clear written purpose

• Effective committee chair

• Thoughtfully appointed members

• Accountability to the Board

• Well-run meetings

Basic components of Effective Committees


Written description• There should be a written

description of what is expected from each committee

• The description should summarize the purpose of the committee, its composition

• Selection procedure, and the specific duties of the committee


• Committee name -- suggests importance and

functions • Objectives --precise and achievable objectives• Duration – timings of actions should be specified• Authority to act -- advisory role or Board

delegates authority • Resources -- secretarial support , meeting

room, food etc.• Budget – may or may not be required• Membership – how to chose total members• Reporting – actions on assigned tasks,

accountability

Committee definition -- purpose


• Preferably be a board member • Not necessarily the technical expert • Works well with others • Organizes effectively • Motivates others • Keeps people on task • Good communication skills

Traits of Committee Chair


• Prepare and present committee reports with the support of staff

• A trendsetter to help produce an effective successor

• Set agendas

• Call meetings

• Allow all members opportunity to contribute

• Assign responsibilities and follow up

Responsibilities of Chair


• Be familiar with goals of organization and

its by-laws

• Select members • Orient new members • Report to Board or Executive Committee • Praise member contributions • Conflict resolution

Responsibilities of Chair


• Talk the most at meetings

• Make all the decisions

• Allow one or more people to dominate the meeting

• Cut people out of discussions

• Make people feel foolish or useless

Chair does NOT………


Committee Members

• They should be appointed with the following focus

Do they have skills, experience and commitment to contribute effectively?• Volunteers – match needs of committee to

skills and interest of members • Number depends on amount and nature

of committee’s work

Valuable tool for developing and testing new leadership


An effective meeting is:

• Effectively led

• Participatory

• Agenda focused

• Result oriented

Meeting Management


Great committee meetings don’t just happen

• Set dates in advance

• Send reminders

• Send agenda with supporting documents

• Start and end on time

• Focus discussion

Meeting Management


• Title of meeting

• Date, time, and location

• Approval of prior meeting minutes

• Old & new business

• Date, time and location of next meeting

Effective Committee Meetings -- Agenda


• Prepare• Report absence in advance • Listen

• Speak up

• Ask questions

• Consider all options and share views

Effective Committee Meetings –

Members responsibilities


• Legal document

• Keep accurate records; avoid unnecessary information

• Prepare as soon as possible after meeting


Minutes


• Title of meeting • Date, time, and location • People present, excused, absent • Corrections to previous meeting minutes • Actions relating to previous meeting • All motions and outcomes of votes • Items to be discussed and decided • Date, time and location of next meeting

Effective Committee Meetings – Minutes Items


• Details of debates

• Facts of what is said; only include what is done

• Vote count – outcome is enough


NOT to include in Minutes


Accountability

• Written committee function that describes what the board expects from the committee.

• This should be in line with the overall vision and mission of the institution, measureable outcome and timelines


Self evaluation/Feedback• Were the issues discussed substantive?

• Were the materials provided helpful in understanding/resolving the issues?

• Was the discussion future oriented?

• How can our next meeting be more productive?

• Based on today's discussion, what should we discuss in the future?


A committee can be a very effective working force of an organization if the committee has;

Summery

a clear writte

n purpos

e

the commit

tee chair is chosen based

on leaders

hip skills

members are

chosen to align commit

tee needs with

member skills

and interes

t

members are

chosen strategic

ally to develop

new leadership for the organizat

ion

Committee

meetings are

conducted

efficiently


Breakout Session II

• Form a committee of your choice

• Mention why this committee is needed

• Set the objectives• Set timeline of activities• Identify the required

resources• Make an execution plan


Education

Empowering board and effective committees