Six Meeting Wasters

Most officiating associations are filled with busy people. Leaders owe their members valuable training and pertinent information delivered in a concise way. If your meetings are running long, look at these time wasters to see where you can improve.

1. Meetings don’t begin on schedule. Whether two or 20 people have arrived, begin the meeting as scheduled. People arriving on time should not be penalized. Once latecomers realize the scheduled meeting time is the actual starting time, there will be a dramatic improvement in attendance.

2. Parliamentary procedure is more an obstacle than a tool. Determine the proficiency among members in using parliamentary procedure as a meeting management tool. If help is needed, contact someone familiar with parliamentary procedure or conduct a practice session for board members in order to strengthen their knowledge of it.

3. When conflict occurs, members often take it personally. Members should be reminded that they are not personally being evaluated; it is the statement. Frequently the statement that gets the most reaction is the one that generates the most effective results. Conflicting opinions often provide the groundwork for a successful solution.

4. Members disrupt meetings with side conversations. Side conversations are not disruptive unless they are intrusive to the meeting. The president should set out ground rules, or use parliamentary procedure, to bring the group back in focus. Members can support the president by policing themselves during the meeting.

5. Attention is on the detail, not the issue. The president should offer members training so they become accustomed to drafting policy statements, reading budgets, etc. If a member is unaccustomed to setting policy, reviewing budget statements or dealing with matters which regularly come before the board, the president should provide guidance to ensure members contribute at a level needed to help the association succeed.

6. Energy spent protecting “turf” rather than what is best for the organization. When it becomes difficult to let go of what appears to be important to an individual member, step back and review the needs of the organization as a whole. That serves to focus on the role of members, which is to do what is best for the entire organization.