I can say that before this project I had never even remotely considered how to create a committee. I know that pubic schools are led by l committees and I have been to many of those meetings but those folks are holding an elected position. As teachers we are asked on a fairly regular basis to join committees. I have volunteered to join these committees a few times, the most recent being our district determined measures initiative (it is mentioned in the 6th paragraph). So before being challenged to set up my own committee and knowing it was not an election process my only real background was, ask everyone and take all who volunteer. So what did I find out? Well let’s just say that there is a whole lot more to it than I thought.
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| not true Mr. Solo, not true |
Do we need a committee?
One of the first things that I read was a sidebar on mycommittee; “A committee is not always the best solution… Ask yourself if your purpose can be accomplished by one or two people (without a group). If so, then do it that way.” This was under the subheading of how to start up a committee and while this may seem blatantly obvious it is something I didn’t really think of. The first step is really looking at (as the quote puts it) purpose and deeming if we need more than a couple points of view. Looking back on my personal experience the initiatives which I see invitations for are never for anything that is not going to have some impact on the district. To put it simply if there are a lot of shareholders involved and it is going to be something that effects many people, a committee is the best answer because you are going to (hopefully) have a more diverse point of view than a team of two people.
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| oh hi! …would you like to be on my committee? |
Who do you select?
This was one I looked at extra carefully because the other part of this assignment is to create a table on who we would have on our committee. Again my only real experience in this was being a part of a mass invitation to join a committee in my district. But what I learned was that who you have as a part of your committee and their attitude really matters. “They should be somewhat knowledgeable in the area of the committee’s responsibility. Members should be a diverse group without being incompatible. Try to recruit people with different perspectives”. I can really see from a leadership point of view not wanting to have people just yes you along. As a teacher I can see students will a lot of the time just kind of pander to what they think you want to hear rather than what they really think. Choosing from a broad base and having people that are not going to be afraid to voice their point of view is a must.
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| something tells me there would be a lot of lasagna at our meetings |
Who’s in charge matters
So we have our committee and it is full of people who have different points of view and are not afraid to share them. We are going to need a strong leader. Having a facilitator that will be able to ensure that everyone is heard is an invaluable part of having a committee that works. Some of the tips offered by mycommittee for an effective chair; “Know where you are going; review the meeting objectives and desired outcomes in your opening remarks” and “Ensure that committee members take ownership in desired outcomes by inviting them to do something to support the goals of the committee” among others. I don’t think that you could just grab up anyone and have them lead a committee that is set up to have different points of view. It takes someone that has a special talent and that person can really be helped by purpose, policy, and procedures.
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| we are going to figure out how that steel chair got in here! |
Have a clear purpose and have policies/procedures
This may seem surprising to some but when you have a large group of people, sometimes you can get sidetracked by things that take you way off of your goal. The first step under starting a committee was to have a clear purpose. Again something that for me in hindsight seems blatantly obvious but coupling the purpose with committee policies and procedures is the best chance for success. What I learned is that when you have these three things together in a way that is simple and easy to understand you are much more likely to stay focused on your goal. You are also much less likely to get bogged down in conversations which simply waste the committees time. This final tip is from the effective chairperson page but I really think it is reverent here; “Anyone who voices a problem must also offer a potential solution…committee meetings should not be a bitching session or a forum for complaining about everything and everyone"
In closing, the first step I think is necessary is to ask yourself is this a issue that is going to effect a lot of people, if so having a committee is a good way to have a balanced view and plan going forward. Who you choose matters, you do not want to have people who are not going to be committed and are not going to share their own points of view. You do not want to have yes people. Having a strong facilitator who is backed up by a clear purpose with procedures and policies in place will lead to an effective committee that does not waste time, come up with incredibly relevant outcomes, and is a very efficient use of it’s members time.
