The individual serving as Chair of a meeting has a significant impact on the ability of the group to achieve its goals. The Chair’s challenge is to create the right balance between people, issues and time. If any one of these three areas receives more or less energy than the other, problems will likely result. For example, if the Chair tries too hard to accommodate people, progress may be hampered. On the other hand, if the Chair is too forceful and focuses on closure (issues) and efficiency (time), members may be left behind and feel frustrated, resentful, and disengaged.
What makes a good Chair? An individual who possesses the following qualities:
- The ability to maintain harmony;
- The ability to stay focused on desired outcomes;
- The ability to determine when formal or informal styles of meeting management will work best for the group and the organization.
- Patience (allowing everyone to have a say before curtailing discussion);
- Tact (to curtail debate or tangents unrelated to the issue at hand);
- Courage (to address members who are disrespectful, non-contributing, etc.).
In the Chair’s opening remarks he/she should:
- Communicate the purpose and desired outcomes to all participants;
- Clarify the type of participation and interaction desired;
- Set the ground rules (i.e. how each member will be heard);
- Identify how conflict will be resolved, how confidential topics will be handled, etc.);
- Indicate when the meeting will end.
The Chair should do more listening than talking; he/she should facilitate collective decision-making and resist any urge to impose decisions. The actions of the Chair should demonstrate to participants that their ideas, opinions and questions are valued. Some of the important responsibilities of the Chair include:
- Deciding who speaks next by interviewing if participants ‘barge in’ without permission or interrupt each other.
- Establishing decorum by encouraging civility and mutual respect and ensuring that issues, not people, are discussed.
- Keeping the meeting on track by reminding members of what is currently on the agenda, intervening if there are digressions and keeping the group aware of where they are in the process.
- Managing time by giving updates on time, enforcing limits on speaking time, ensuring agreed upon time frames are adhered to.
- Educating and advising by offering options to achieve results (i.e. amendments, postponement, and referral to a committee for study).
- Creating balance by explaining the overall purpose at the start of the meeting, repeating motions periodically and again before they are vote on.
- Encouraging listening and questioning by listening for ambiguities, missing points, generalizations, misunderstanding, and raising appropriate questions.
- Re-directing by shifting the discussion from complaints and accusations to constructive channels, encouraging members who oppose something to propose a solution.
- Summarizing by briefly repeating key points and concerns raised and highlighting (in concise point form) apparent areas of agreement and disagreement.
- Facilitating closure and follow-up by articulating the proposal being vote on, ensuring that it is understood, then taking a vote on it, facilitating the assignment of follow-up duties, confirming that a record of the decision has been made.
The ability to fulfill these roles can be compromised if the Chair becomes too heavily involved in the debate (especially on contentious issues) or is attached, or is viewed as being attached, to a certain outcome,. It is important for the Chair to run meetings impartially, guide the process and allow participants to carry the content.
