What makes a good committee?
M Gillett, L Rhind & J Till
Tertiary Education Management Conference 2006
What Makes A Good Committee?
•
Maureen Gillett (UWS)
•
Lorraine Rhind (University of Sydney)
•
Jennifer Till (UNSW)
ALL members of the ATEM NSW Branch Committee
A Common Assumption
“A committee of one gets things done.”
JOE RYAN
Some Definitions
• What is a meeting ?
• What are committees? Informal and formal
• What roles can you play on a committee?
Purposes of committees
• WHY are committees used to solve problems and
achieve outcomes? Committees CAN work!
• WHY do we spend so much time in meetings?
• HOW do you know what the purpose of your
committee is?
“We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed but to those who have differed.”
C. C. COLTON
The Key to good committees
First and foremost:
THE CHAIRPERSON !
“I don’t believe in just ordering people to do things.
You have to sort of grab an oar and row with them.” HAROLD GREEN
Some personal experiences..
Source: Cartoons by Sam Smith, Cartoonist in Just a minute?
A guide to committee servicing. Jean Grier, 2001.
Good Practice Series number 26,
The Association of University Administration
Overcoming the bad chairperson
• How do you tell if a chairperson is not
‘performing’?
• What can YOU do about this, no matter what
your role on the committee is?
Painting a picture:
the Good Chairperson
• be a positive and communicative leader (inside and
outside of meetings)
• control the meeting, particularly when discussions go
off track or become heated
• be able to deal with members lack of commitment and
direction, apathy (outside of meetings),
Painting a picture:
the Good Chairperson cont…
• ensure all members points of view are given
equal time for adequate discussion,
• draw out the quieter members and encourages
all members to participate and comment on all
issues to provide a learning and developmental
environment,
Some personal experiences…
Source: Cartoons by Sam Smith, Cartoonist in Just a minute?
A guide to committee servicing. Jean Grier, 2001.
Good Practice Series number 26,
The Association of University Administration
The benefits of a good committee
experience
• Benefits in achieving outcomes
• Benefits to the individuals involved in the
committee
Some personal experiences….
Source: Cartoons by Sam Smith, Cartoonist in Just a minute?
A guide to committee servicing. Jean Grier, 2001.
Good Practice Series number 26,
The Association of University Administration
What YOU can do to make sure
your committees’ work makes a
difference
Before Meetings
During Meetings
After meetings
YOUR committee experiences?
• Formal and informal
• The benefits of sharing and discussing these
experiences
• The benefits of PRACTICE being on
committees – work committees, volunteer
committees
I want to know MORE!

Best Practice guides - Just a minute? A guide to committee
servicing by Jean Grier. Good Practice Series number 26,
The Association of University Administrators, 2001.

Horsley’s Meetings Procedure, Law and Practice by W John
Taggart, 3rd Edition, Butterworths 1989.

Contact the administrator responsible for the academic
secretariat in your university to find out what sort of advice
is available.
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JOIN informal and formal committees both work related and
volunteer – learn from experience and become an expert!
In summary: A suggestion kit
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Obtain a list of the committee members and their job titles and backgrounds.
Ensure you know when and where the first meeting will take place. Turn up at least ten minutes early so you
can relax and re-read the agenda and minutes.
If you cannot attend any meeting, nominate a replacement member on the committee. Remember, as an
invited member, it is your responsibility (and not your delegates) to take the necessary action on any follow-up
items.
Provide agenda items prior to the agenda being circulated. Most agendas will be circulated no later than one
week prior to the meeting.
Take your diary to every meeting, just in case future meetings for the rest of the year have to be re-organised.
Make sure your name is recorded on the attendance list .
Ensure you have read the agenda and the minutes, and taken necessary actions prior to the meeting.
Before the chair approves the minutes, make sure you put forward any changes.
MORE …??
FUN Finally and most importantly, make sure you enjoy and learn from the experience of working
with staff in other disciplines, divisions, schools or colleges.
“That, my son, is where they store all the minutes of all the last
meetings.”
Thank You!!!!

Lunch
Please reconvene at 2pm on Level 3, Ballroom A/ Ante
(adjacent to the Trade Exhibition)
Tertiary Education Management Conference 2006