Meeting Dynamics
Contents
Who runs meetings?
Problem
Scenario
- Brad Pitt assumes the role of running the meeting.
- The meeting begins and George Clooney says he should run the meeting instead.
- Brad Pitt motions for a vote on who will be running the meeting.
- George Clooney loses the vote and feels alienated by the group.
- George Clooney continues to express his annoyance for who is running the meeting by being combative during the meeting.
- And this could continue if more people wanted to run the meeting...
Note: The scenario could go much differently, but the main issue is having a popular vote on who runs the meeting. Disagreements will inevitably occur when someone volunteers to run the meeting, so we need to assume a popular vote is a very likely outcome of someone volunteering to run the meeting.
Outcome
Positive:
- The membership is self-governing
- The membership decides its own level of objectivity in its governance
- The membership determines how meeting proceed
Negative:
- At least one person feels alienated by the group.
- It creates an uncomfortable situation, and contributes to making meetings not enjoyable to attend.
- At least one person feels the need to be combative during the meeting.
- Wasted time electing a person to run the meeting, when it could be been decided beforehand.
- It makes the group look like it is not coherent.
Solution: The President, An Officer, Or A Director Runs The Meeting
Pros:
- It avoids conflict and alienation because there is no debate/vote over who will be running the meeting.
- By preferring the President/Officer/Board Member, you're more likely to have an objective leader (or at least someone who is more likely to win a popular vote anyway) running the meeting. This prevents someone from running the meeting because they want to support their own agenda.
Cons:
- Although the meeting would be run by someone who is a member, it does not encourage a separation between the voting bodies of the directors and membership.
- This issue could be negated by appointing an officer whose job is to preside over membership meetings.
- The president or a board member has generally run the meetings in the past anyway.
