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The chair's true purpose
Avanti Academy / Boards and governance / Chairing Meetings, Boards and Committees / Bitesize
Bitesize

The chair's true purpose

Role of the chair and good governance.

Level
Bitesize
Learning time
1 hour
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

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Certificate of Completion

About this course

Overview and Outcomes.

Overview

This module sets out what chairing is for and why it is a craft rather than a seat. It introduces the four Ps of purpose, process, people and product, asks what any meeting genuinely needs to produce, and compares four traditions: Robert's Rules of Order, Citrine's ABC of Chairmanship, Quaker business method and the British Cabinet. It closes with Perlow and colleagues' evidence on unproductive meetings and Rogelberg's chair as steward of other people's time. The chair and chief executive relationship is set outside the room and tested inside it. This module covers the chair's four part role, the elements of a positive relationship and what each side owes the other, then follows the partnership into the meeting itself. It sets out the meeting cycle, four core chairing skills, the principle of the room's best thinking over its loudest voice, and the common pitfalls that catch even experienced chairs.

What you'll develop

In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:

  1. Explain why chairing is a craft rather than a seat, and describe the chair's responsibilities using purpose, process, people and product.
  2. Assess whether a proposed meeting genuinely needs to happen by identifying whether it is for a decision, an update or a discussion.
  3. Compare four traditions of running a meeting and apply Rogelberg's idea of the chair as steward of time, voice, decision and record.
  4. Describe the chair's four part role and explain what the chair and chief executive each owe the other.
  5. Apply the principles of clear roles, no surprises, calm public disagreement and protection with challenge when chair and chief executive are in the room together.
What it covers

The Modules.

1 hour of learning.

  1. 01Foundations: What Chairing Is ForThis module sets out what chairing is for and why it is a craft rather than a seat. It introduces the four Ps of purpose, process, people and product, asks what any meeting genuinely needs to produce, and compares four traditions: Robert's Rules of Order, Citrine's ABC of Chairmanship, Quaker business method and the British Cabinet. It closes with Perlow and colleagues' evidence on unproductive meetings and Rogelberg's chair as steward of other people's time.28 min
  2. 02The Chair, Revisited: From Good Governance to the RoomThe chair and chief executive relationship is set outside the room and tested inside it. This module covers the chair's four part role, the elements of a positive relationship and what each side owes the other, then follows the partnership into the meeting itself. It sets out the meeting cycle, four core chairing skills, the principle of the room's best thinking over its loudest voice, and the common pitfalls that catch even experienced chairs.35 min
Where it fits

Keep going.

Part of the Chairing Meetings, Boards and Committees topic, also sold whole as In the chair.

How credit works

Go deeper, and pay only the difference

  1. You are hereBitesize, 1 hour, £39
  2. Next stepFocus, The chair's craft, 2 hours 30 minutes, £69. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £30.
  3. 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

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