How can you keep a group focused on its mission, vision
and strategic goals? How do you ensure that everyone always remembers
the code of conduct for meetings? Below is a simple and practical
tip to achieve these goals.
Prepare tent cards to place in front of meeting participants.
On the side facing away from them will be their names and titles.
On the side facing them will be key data that they need to remember at
meetings. Depending on the space available on the tent card, you
could include some or all of the following:
- The organization’s mission, vision and key strategic goals.
- Goals of shared decision-making: achieving quality decisions, inclusion
and democracy, fairness and equality, transparency, listening, on going
learning, maintaining a dynamic yet comfortable pace for the meeting,
and so on.
- Participation guidelines: speak when your turn comes, speak concisely
and clearly, remain focused on the agenda, keep your comments to the
issues (not the people), make room for others to contribute, listen
with an open mind, share observations even if they may be unpopular,
speak up when there is a problem that the Chair does not appear to notice,
and so on.
- Concise phrases that participants can use if things go wrong: “Can
we get back to the core issue, which is _____?” or “I’m
not hearing any new information. Are we ready to move on?”
or “Can we let people finish?”
With such tent cards facing them, participants will
be constantly reminded of core principles that they are expected to adhere
to. The written reminders will make it easy for them to speak up.
For example: ”I am reading principle number 3 on the card: Decisions
must be financially and environmentally sustainable. I am not sure
that this proposal meets these criteria.”
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