Balance

Whether we realize it or not, we all come to meetings with expectations of others. If we have previously met with a particular group, our past experiences influence our current or future expectations. Even if this is a new meeting or a new group of people, we still bring expectations based on previous experiences and […]

In every meeting, you will have people who are more inclined to talk, share and provide their perspective or feedback and you will have others who listen more and talk less. If we have been meeting with a group for a long time, we develop a group culture where we may expect our colleagues to

One of the most common meeting expectations that rarely actually happens is the idea of “start on time; end on time.” Last weekend I provided training on group dynamics and one of the questions was related to what to do when we participate in or lead meetings that do not actually start on time or

One of the best ways to apply Meeting Guiding Principle #1: Teacher of others and learner from others is to garner participation from as many people as possible. Whether you are leading a small or large group, there will always be some people who participate more actively than others. While you want to encourage that

If you are in the business of leading coalitions, you are also in the business of leading meetings – lots of meetings! 🙂 Over the past 20 years, I have adopted ome “guiding principles” that I like to apply to the meetings that I both lead and attend. One of my favorites is to “be

If you have worked in coalitions and partnerships for a month or longer, you know that coalition work is all about relationships. Although there are many principles and practices that will support relationship-building, one of the most powerful is practicing compassion. One of the misconceptions about compassion is that if we demonstrate compassion, we are

One of the most rewarding and yet challenging aspects of leading coalitions is engaging coalition members in specific tasks. During meetings, many people will have ideas, recommendations and projects that can be implemented by the coalition. When the discussion shifts to assigning tasks and responsibilities, the room or “virtual room” can often become very quiet. 

When leading coalitions and partnerships, there is always the challenge of clarifying which roles staff play and which roles volunteer leaders play. Oftentimes, coalition staff want to engage volunteer leaders (e.g. co-chairs) in leading meetings but are not sure how to make it happen. Many volunteer leaders have an interest in engaging and leading but

When you are working in coalitions and partnerships, there are often very few paid staff. Sometimes you are the only one and you may only be paid part-time to do the work of the coalition. In a coalition or partnership, there are always more needs and areas of interest than time to adequately implement them.

When we are passionate about our work and we really care about others, one of the most challenging things to admit is that we cannot do it all. While we may intuitively know this, our calendars and our to-do lists may suggest a different reality. Once we begin prioritizing what we do, we also have