James Shepherd-Barron
Latest posts by James Shepherd-Barron (see all)
- HOT FROGS and the monetization of money - 3rd March 2021
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- HOLE IN THE WALL (Book Extract) - 18th January 2021
REALITY CHECK: Go on. Admit it. You spend most of your time in a coordination meeting texting or answering e-mails. That’s OK. Disaster managers are good at multi-tasking. But if you’re doing it during a genuine coordination meeting — i.e not one of those larger zoo-like information sharing meetings — then you’re either the wrong person or you’re in the wrong room. Or maybe you’re the right person in the right room but the meeting is so boring that it’s difficult to engage (in which case, it’s up to you to change the situation).
So, having chaired hundreds of cluster, inter-cluster and technical working groups, here are my top tips for more productive meetings:
First, the success or otherwise of any meeting will depend to a great extent on the level of engagement in planning and preparation beforehand. In fact, investment in this aspect is the hidden art of truly effective coordination management.
No less important is to create an atmosphere conducive to fruitful discussion. This means tea, coffee, and biscuits afterwards if you can manage it, as just as much gets achieved when mingling and networking after the meeting as in the meeting itself.
The role of the ‘chair’ is to facilitate the meeting in such a way that the collective wisdom of those attending is tapped into so that the objectives of the meeting are met and the intended results achieved. At the same time, the participants’ role is to prepare for, and engage constructively.
Being seen to be impartial, independent, a good listener, and someone who is not afraid to ask advice goes a long way to engendering the ‘trust’ so vital to being perceived as a good coordinator. Good ‘chairs’ tend to engender this trust by doing the following:
- Keep numbers down. It’s almost impossible to conduct a productive meeting with more than 20 people round the table as the mood is more formal, the priorities less flexible, and the atmosphere more political. This is why ‘strategic advisory groups’ (SAGs) were invented. There should be only one person representing the cluster or organisation sitting at the table; anyone else — and there can be many — sits behind.
- Keep the mood balanced as topics can swing quickly from the mundane to high drama. Challenge is to be encouraged. But dispute resolution will require the topic be dealt with ‘offline’ i.e after the meeting.
- Keep it snappy. That way, you focus on the imperatives and weed out the ‘obsessives’ who hijack the meeting by focusing on one topic excessively. Let’s be clear: stage-managed information-sharing meetings may take one hour but genuine Cluster coordination meetings take two hours — including time for mingling afterwards — particularly if translation is required.
- Set the purposeful tone and style of the meeting by starting with a statement that outlines the purpose of the meeting, and the maximum time the meeting is to last.
- Be careful with humour as this is so often misinterpreted in multicultural settings (where half the audience won’t understand the joke, and the other half will be offended by it)
- Establish do’s and don’ts such as “please mute your phones” and “introduce yourself and your organisation when intervening” as this encourages respectful behaviour.
- Ask only newcomers to introduce themselves at the beginning of the meeting, then introduce the government representative / co-chairs.
- Use microphones. However loud you think you can speak, always use a microphone.
- Run through the agenda and then ask if anyone has a topic to add. Depending on time, this can either be dealt with under ‘Any Other Business’ or held-over until the next meeting.
- Keep discussions focused on key issues (i.e stop digressions – interrupt if necessary). However, allow flexibility within agenda items for participants to express and develop closely-related issues and concerns (but watch the clock).
- Avoid talking too much and getting personally involved in discussions.
- Listen actively i.e be aware of your body language, look your interlocutor in the eye, nod and grunt from time to time to demonstrate your interest – even if you’re thinking about something else.
- Encourage wide participation. Ask for information and opinions, especially from those who speak less.
- Ask open-ended questions.
- Don’t be defensive and don’t take comments personally.
- Clarify and elaborate when requested or when needed.
- Test continually for consensus (“Do you all agree ?”)
- Summarise, re-formulate and record key points. Since this is easier said than done when chairing the meeting, arrange for a volunteer to record salient points as they arise; this helps the group stay focused, avoids repetition, and helps reach consensus
- Obtain agreement from those present on specific proposals and allocate responsibilities there and then (it helps to write the proposal on a Flip-chart)
- Anticipate problems and prevent or mitigate them by defusing clashes and being seen to deal calmly with difficult participants
- Limit the proliferation of sub-groups unless there is a clear need for them.
- Be ruthless in ensuring sub-groups come up with clear recommendations by the agreed deadline (typically no more than 72 hrs later)
- Emphasise strategic issues and action-oriented decision-making rather than information-sharing.
- Ensure speech is simultaneously translated
- Know who is attending (and who isn’t)
- Summarise action points at the end of each agenda item and again at the end of the meeting
- Use conference calls instead of meetings.
- Ensure that accurate draft meeting notes are circulated within 24 hrs.