If you are new to serving in a committee leadership position (or aspire to do so in the future), you may be wondering how best to approach your role. Serving as a committee chair or vice chair can be a rewarding experience and one where your contributions can really make a difference to the committee’s goals and initiatives. Below are five tips to help you make the most of your leadership position.
- Gather some intel
- Talk to the outgoing chair (and/or current chair) to brainstorm ideas for possible projects and general direction for your committee’s work.
- Attend the chair and vice chair breakfast meeting at the College’s Annual Meeting. It’s a great way to connect with other committee leaders and get an update on the College’s strategic priorities and how your committee can support these efforts.
- Review the committee leader job descriptions and talk to your fellow committee leaders and your staff liaison about how to divide up your responsibilities. Remember, you’re not alone… you have a team to support you!
- Set the stage for your work
- Hold a kick-off meeting at the beginning of the year where members of your committee can learn more about each other and their interests.
- Brainstorm projects ideas and set your goals and priorities for the year.
- Communicate your expectations for all committee members to attend meetings and contribute to projects throughout the year. Have an offline conversation with members who don’t contribute to see what’s holding them back. If they don’t have the time or interest to stay involved, suggest they step down from the committee so that another College member has an opportunity to contribute.
- Run effective meetings
- Decide on how frequently you’d like to meet as a committee based on the work you have planned for the year. Every committee is different and there are no set rules, but you should meet at least 1-3 times a year to keep your committee engaged.
- Put together an agenda for each meeting and share it with your committee ahead of time. Ask for any additional items for discussion prior to or at the beginning of the meeting.
- Keep your meetings to the allocated time; you can have a productive meeting in 30-45 minutes. If a longer meeting is necessary, set those expectations early and make sure you finish on time. (You’ll likely have members in many different time zones and evening calls can be particularly challenging after a long day of seeing patients.)
- Sustain your committee’s activity
- Summarize key takeaways from each meeting and post them to Basecamp; be sure to provide members who were not able to attend with opportunities to contribute.
- Establish workgroups and project leads; additional meetings can be held separately with those involved to keep their project going.
- Ask for progress updates from project your leads; these can be presented at your committee’s meetings.
- Champion for your team
- Review your achievements and progress at every meeting; recognize those who have contributed.
- Spotlight your committee’s work in Committee Insider and report your accomplishments to the chair of your council, they can include it in their report to the Board of Regents.
- Ask for additional resources where needed; you may request funding (by putting in a budget request in June) or other forms of support for your projects (by presenting your request to the BOR).
Need a quick refresher on how to lead effectively throughout the year? Keep this one-page guide with a few additional tips handy. Plus, don’t hesitate to reach out to the College’s Executive Medical Director, Todd Mahr, MD, FACAAI or your staff liaison for additional assistance and guidance!
