Leadership Manual
Leadership and Governance
TRANSITION: The Changing of the Guard
NEW PRESIDENT POINTERS
LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM GEESE
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
HOW TO RUN A MEETING
MEETING TIPS
RECORD-KEEPING PRACTICES
HOW TO RUN A MEETING
The president starts by calling the meeting to order; that is, formally announcing that the meeting will begin. Before any business can take place, a quorum must be present. A quorum is a specific number and combination of members required in order to transact the organization's business. This information should be in the organization's constitution and/or bylaws.
If there is no quorum, the only activities allowed are: (1) pre-determining a time to adjourn the meeting; (2) attempting to establish a quorum before that time elapses; and, if no quorum has been established by the pre-determined time, (3) adjourning.
- Assuming a quorum is present, the meeting should begin with the approval of an agenda which lists the topics to be covered during that meeting. Except in special cases, items may be added or deleted from the agenda at this time. At meetings during which the presiding officer expects rowdiness and/or chaos, rules governing the conduct of business at the meeting (how long and how often someone may speak on a topic, directions on obtaining the right to speak, etc.) may also need to be read and approved.
- The minutes, which are an official stating of the proceedings from the previous meeting, are read and approved, with corrections as needed. The first paragraph of the minutes should include the name of the organization, the kind of meeting, the date, time, and location of the meeting, the fact that the regular presiding officer and secretary were present or the names of those who substituted for them, and whether the minutes from the previous meeting were read and approved as read or as corrected. The body of the minutes must include the exact wording and disposition of all main motions, secondary motions, notices of motions, points of order, and appeals, along with the reasons given by the chair for his or her ruling. The minutes must also include the names of the maker of the motion but not the seconder, unless required by the body. The last paragraph should indicate the time the meeting ended.
- Reports from various officers and committee chairs -- their responsibilities and the hierarchy of command should be described in the organization's bylaws -- are given next. There is no requirement that every officer and/or committee chair report at every meeting. Only officers and/or committee chairs who have activity to report should do so.
- Unfinished business -- questions which were carried over from a previous meeting because the earlier meeting adjourned without completing its business -- is the heading for the next set of items on the agenda. Often there will not be unfinished business.
- New business -- questions or topics which have not previously been brought before the group -- is the next set of items. This is the section where any information which may have been received since the previous meeting and requiring consideration and/or a vote by the group may be addressed. It is also where added agenda items will usually be placed.
- Announcements of importance to the group are normally made following the completion of new business.
- Following announcements, a formal motion to adjourn is usually requested by the presiding officer. The motion is made, seconded, requires a simple majority vote, and the meeting is over. If the group has previously adopted a motion or a program setting a specific time to adjourn, or if the bylaws or some other governing rules prescribe it, a motion to adjourn is not required.
Fuller, more comprehensive descriptions of how to run meetings are included in any book on parliamentary procedure.
---»MEETING TIPS
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