Holding the whole room
Standing orders, quorum and interests.
- Level
- Bitesize
- Learning time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Where
- Chairing Meetings, Boards and Committees
- Price
- £39
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion
Overview and Outcomes.
Overview
Every room holds two meetings: the agenda and the undercurrent. This module draws on Wilfred Bion's basic assumption groups and his idea of the container, Irving Janis on groupthink and structured dissent, and Amy Edmondson on psychological safety to help you read and hold the room. It then looks at familiar behaviour patterns, handling conflict, and Eric Berne's transactional analysis, all anchored in chairing the behaviour, not the person. Procedure is how a room stays fair. This module gives a working map of the rules in Wales and England: where they come from across councils, National Health Service bodies, charities and companies, quorum, standing orders, and why a chair's ruling must be fair as well as final. It covers what board committees are for and the limits of delegation, declarations and conflicts of interest, quasi-judicial meetings, and the principle that public business is open by default.
What you'll develop
In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:
- Identify Bion's dependency, fight-flight and pairing patterns in a meeting and describe how a chair can act as a container.
- Recognise the symptoms of groupthink and plan structured dissent and practical checks so that silence is not mistaken for agreement.
- Apply responses to common behaviour patterns and conflict, including transactional analysis, that address the behaviour rather than the person.
- Identify where the rules for your meeting come from and check that it is quorate, including when members leave part way through.
- Apply standing orders and give rulings that are grounded, consistent and explained, while keeping committees within their delegation.
The Modules.
1 hour 15 minutes of learning.
- 05People and Dynamics: Chairing the Whole RoomEvery room holds two meetings: the agenda and the undercurrent. This module draws on Wilfred Bion's basic assumption groups and his idea of the container, Irving Janis on groupthink and structured dissent, and Amy Edmondson on psychological safety to help you read and hold the room. It then looks at familiar behaviour patterns, handling conflict, and Eric Berne's transactional analysis, all anchored in chairing the behaviour, not the person.40 min
- 06The Rules: Standing Orders, Quorum and InterestsProcedure is how a room stays fair. This module gives a working map of the rules in Wales and England: where they come from across councils, National Health Service bodies, charities and companies, quorum, standing orders, and why a chair's ruling must be fair as well as final. It covers what board committees are for and the limits of delegation, declarations and conflicts of interest, quasi-judicial meetings, and the principle that public business is open by default.39 min
Keep going.
Part of the Chairing Meetings, Boards and Committees topic, also sold whole as In the chair.
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereBitesize, 1 hour 15 minutes, £39
- Next stepFocus, Chairing in the open, 3 hours, £69. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £30.
- The whole topicExplore, In the chair, 5 hours 30 minutes, £129. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £90.
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Also part of: Governing with confidence, Serving your community well, Your first days in office
