Why do meetings tend to run over time? Why are decisions so often postponed? Why do we feel after a meeting that we didn’t actually make decisions with the thoroughness that they deserve?
These were some of the questions posed by the Head of Clinical and Professional Practice at UKZN’s School of Clinical Medicine (SCM), Professor Richard Hift, who facilitated a seminar on effective chairing and participation in meetings at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine. The seminar was attended by academic and professional services staff from across the College of Health Sciences (CHS).
Hift said attending meetings, and sometimes chairing them, is an important part of life, both within and outside the University. ‘We have all sat through meetings which left us frustrated and unfulfilled, while others prove to be productive and enjoyable.’
He added that, ‘It’s not so much disorder but failing to arrive at a decision after a lengthy meeting,’ that nullifies the purpose of meetings.
The seminar explored the concepts and procedures which allow Chairs to run efficient and productive meetings and attendees to contribute positively and draw value from their attendance, and discussed how many of the principles apply to effectively led departments and units.
Hift quoted Robert’s Rules of Order, which describe the application of parliamentary law (on which meeting protocol is based) ‘as the best method yet devised to enable assemblies of any size, with due regard for every member’s opinion, to arrive at the general will on the maximum number of questions of varying complexity in a minimum amount of time and under all kinds of internal climate ranging from total harmony to hardened or impassioned division of opinion.’
He said the crux of parliamentary procedure is efficiency in decision-making in an atmosphere of order and decorum, with full participation of every member who is guaranteed the freedom to express an opinion and the opportunity to be heard, with every member agreeing to be bound by the will of the majority. This is not only applicable at universities, but across civil society including company boards, church councils, club committees, ratepayers’ associations, school governing bodies, and beyond.
Participatory democracy includes the right to express one’s opinion freely, to have one’s opinion given proper consideration, and to influence the outcome directly via a vote. The obligations are to participate, respect the rules, rights and opinions of others, and to accept the will of the majority.
Hift said that, when in a meeting, it is common sense that one subject should be discussed at a time, debate must be limited to the merits of the question, and that ideally, no member should speak a second time to an issue as long as any member who has not spoken to the issue desires to do so. He also distinguished between the functions of boards and committees.
Efficient meetings should include agendas and preparation. The length of the agenda is set in inverse proportion to the length of debate required to reach a proper, informed decision on each item. Agendas, minutes, annexures and reports must be circulated in good time.
Understood to be a neutral party, the role of the Chair is to ensure that meetings are conducted in a manner which supports orderly discussion and decision. His/her role is to facilitate the orderly transaction of the business of an assembly, maintain decorum and improve the quality of its decisions.
The Chair is also tasked to ensure legitimacy through debate which offers everyone a fair chance to contribute; and reach decisions which reflect, not just a vote, but the real will of the majority, and which will be accepted and owned by all, even those who would have preferred a different outcome.
Attendees shared a host of challenges they had faced during their attendance or chairing of meetings, agreeing that the parliamentary procedure approach made most sense.
‘Meetings are a way of life,’ said School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences administrator, Pricilla Govender. She said she found the seminar relevant and stimulating, and expressed the wish that a larger pool of UKZN employees could be exposed to such.
Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Professor Yunus Moosa, made the tongue-in-cheek remark that the seminar was useful for meetings not only in the workplace but also in the household setting.
The seminar was a follow-on from one shared with the academic leadership of the SCM as part of its Staff Development Programme. The series is open to all CHS academic and professional services staff.
Words: Lunga Memela
Photograph: Supplied