Working with your group

The effectiveness of your planning group will very much be determined by the sort of relationship you strike up with members of the group. The first of your problems will be clarifying just what it is the members of the group need to know.

How are you going to get these people to come to a meeting? Let us assume that you have chosen the people for your group.

• Firstly, the people will need to know what you are doing. This is where your project definition comes in handy again. As well as providing them with a copy of your aim, objectives, scope, authority and context, you ought to tell them how you intend developing the risk assessment. For this purpose you should send the planning group a copy of the risk assessment process diagram from Topic 2 (the one we are using throughout this Topic). You may even consider providing them with details of how they can access the online version of the Emergency Risk Management Applications Guide from the EMA web site (http://www.ema.gov.au).
• Secondly, the people will need to know what the benefits of the risk assessment are (to both you, them and the community), and what the final product will look like.
• Thirdly, they will need to know how long it will take to develop the risk assessment and how much time you expect they will need to spend helping you.

You will also be faced with other problems. Questions you may be asking yourself include:

• How do I get the full commitment and active involvement of all members of the group?
• How can I effectively run the first meeting of the group, and accurately record the group's decisions?

We will look at some of these issues shortly.

When you have assembled an existing planning group, or assembled your own, you now have the chance to refine your aim, objectives and scope (the basis of your project definition). It is essential that you allow the planning group to discuss the project definition, and make alterations if they see fit.

Earlier, I raised a number of problems that you will be confronted with as you begin to work with your group - getting the active involvement of all members, running a meeting effectively.

There are other organisational problems as well. I dare say all of us have been to meetings which have been less than successful. We might have come away knowing little about the agenda and meetings may have gone on for too long and without structure. Some people may have been allowed to monopolise the discussion, or the discussion may have strayed wildly off-topic. We need to be aware of the sorts of preparation and behaviours that lead to effective meetings, and avoid the sorts of problems above.

It's not possible to be an 'instant' expert on running a group meeting, this comes through experience. Similarly, it's not possible to avoid all problems, people are unique, and can often behave in quite unexpected and unpredictable ways. For example, you may find conflict within your group, but do not be alarmed! If you handle it wisely, conflict can in fact be healthy to the productivity of your group.

Assuming that you are not an expert in running meetings, let us try and identify some basic principles, 'do's' and 'don'ts' which can go a long way to ensuring that your meetings are successful and satisfactory to all involved. To do this we will look at two extracts, one from a series of books on management that features John Cleese, of 'Monty Python' and 'Faulty Towers' television fame (you may have had a chance to see the video based on these materials - very funny, & very accurate!). As you will find, 'Tim' has quite a bit to learn about running a successful meeting!

The second extract has some very good advice on the roles of the various participants, particularly that of the chairperson.

Activity 3.5 Read Reading 3.1: Decision-making meetings. Reading 3.2: Meetings, bloody meetings. 1. What have you learned from Tim's mistakes in setting and following an agenda?-answer this by making a list of 'do's' with regard to the agenda.   2. Think of the agenda that you will be preparing for your planning group. A discussion of your project definition is one of the main items for your proposed agenda (we will come to other items later)-aims, objectives and scope. Take these three and develop an agenda item for each that defines the direction and area for discussion. (To get you started, each item might be a set of questions-for example, 'Objectives' questions might include: Are the objectives clear? Are they realistic-can they be achieved? Are they sufficiently comprehensive? etc. Write a proposed structure for each agenda item below: Aim Objectives Scope   3. Summarise a list of 'do's' for you as the chairperson of this initial meeting. (You should find at least five major points here-use both extracts to develop your list. Keep your 'do's' crisp and to the point.)   4. What advice is there on how to handle a conflict situation to you as a chairperson? Summarise this advice as brief points. Print this activity

Assignment work: Organisation of planning group

For your assignment, you should now either locate an existing planning group, or form your own. You will need to organise a meeting to be held by no later than Week 4 of the programme.

You will also need to list the people you have selected, and the organisations they represent, in your first assignment, the Project Definition.

about this CD | site-map | © Charles Sturt University