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THE MEETING ASSESSMENT COP (M.A.C.)
By Eli Mina, M.Sc.
Very few groups stop to assess the quality or effectiveness of their meetings. They may send someone to a meetings course, but then course materials sit on the shelf and give way to more pressing matters. Is there a way of entrenching good practices? One way is to appoint a "Meeting Assessment Cop" (M.A.C.) at every meeting. M.A.C. will take notes during the meeting and offer comments before the meeting is closed. Here are 10 questions for MAC to consider:
  1. Did we act as a sophisticated, deliberate, informed and principle-based decision making body? Did we fully understand the issues we voted on?


  2. Did we serve the community as well as we could have? Did we deliver a good return on investment on this meeting?


  3. Did narrow interests or the community’s broad interests guide us?


  4. Did we benefit from the expertise of staff? Did we make room to hear it?


  5. Did we use our time wisely or did we waste much of it on minutiae?


  6. Did we ask tough questions? Were we able to make difficult decisions? Were we able to act from a principle base despite political pressures?


  7. Were our decisions smart, proactive and holistic? Did we listen well to all sides or did vocal and well-organized groups sway us?


  8. Did we work together or did we fight one another?


  9. Was everyone alert and fully engaged in discussions? How much domination and how much “holding back” did we have at the meeting?


  10. Did procedure and rules of order constrain, confuse and intimidate us? Or did they provide the structure to facilitate shared decision-making?
The above checklist can help you “keep everyone honest” and make your future meetings effective and well focused. You can score a meeting on a scale of 0 (entirely dysfunctional) to 10 (excellent) on each of the above 10 categories. Add up the totals (grand total = 0 and 100) and set targets for improvement.


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Information about Eli Mina:

Eli Mina, M.Sc., PRP, is a Vancouver (Canada) based management consultant, executive coach, and Registered Parliamentarian. In business since 1984, Eli consults his clients on board effectiveness, chairing contentious meetings, preventing and dealing with disputes and dysfunctions, demystifying the rules of order, and minute taking standards. Eli's clients come from municipal government, school boards, regulatory bodies, credit unions, colleges and universities, native communities, businesses, and the non-profit sector.

Eli is the author of the newly published "101 Boardroom Problems and How to Solve Them." He is also the author of several other books and publications on meetings, shared decision-making and minute taking (see Eli Mina's Books at www.elimina.com ). Eli can be reached at 604-730-0377 or via e-mail at eli@elimina.com.


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