I am a member of several (read this MANY) committees. Most of these are identified as teams. But we all know that most teams are, in reality, glorified committees. On Tuesday I attended a special kind of committee meeting. This is known as a "steering" committee. I'm a voting member. And I will refrain from naming this committee, because our problems are no different, and no more glaring, than any other committee.

The big difference in today's meeting and others past, was the attendance level. Usually about 30 or so of us show up. About a third that number made it to today's festivities. It could be that the venue was conducive to playing hooky. St. George in March can have adverse affects on golfer types. Especially after a long and pent up winter. But the chairman asked what could be done to make these committee meetings more meaningful. The first time he asked there was no response. We might have all missed the significance. I thought it was more of a rhetorical question.

The question was asked several more times, with increasing intensity. Eventually I clued into the request and realized that a bona fide response was warranted. Still, I waited until the meeting was over and most of the small crowd had dispersed. I took some time to collect my thoughts and then offered my opinion. For what it's worth my thoughts and suggestions follow. At least a brief summation:

How to turn a committee into something useful

Don't treat it like a committee, treat it like a team.

Develop Statements of Work (SOWs)

SOWs clearly define the scope of a project.

SOWs include lists of objectives, resources, barriers and deliverables.

And SOWs establish a timeline with a due date.

SOWs are also communicated to everyone involved.

Follow-up on these SOWs regularly. Establish responsibility as part of your committee culture.

Provide a Project leader and a facilitator for each SOW.

Reward success and celebrate completion.

Renew the committee with new, challenging projects.

I don't know if my message got through. It's difficult to run a committee like you run your own department or business. For one thing, we only meet once a month. Hard to have continuity, among other detrimental factors. And sometimes it's hard to get volunteers to step up. On the other hand, all of us are part of the committee because we are recognized as successful, get-things-done individuals. Or at least I think that's why we've been asked to participate.

The chairman thanked me and then stated that he would get the project leaders together to discuss my suggestions. I offered to facilitate some of the projects. The chairman stated that he hoped the project leads would also be able to facilitate and see what needed to be done. I reminded him, and myself, that you need both. The team lead understands the technical aspects of a project. The facilitator must understand the dynamics of a team. The facilitator is a process person. These are two different skills that compliment each other. Both are needed. Perhaps we fail, or at least move slowly, because we neglect to assign both functions.

Well, I left the meeting to check into my hotel and then find a bucket of balls and a place to practice on my long neglected golf swing. I thought about this conversation several times throughout the evening. I don't know if my suggestions will make any difference. I'm pretty sure that staying with the typical committee mentality won't...........
10:25:18 PM    comment []