Chairing Meetings · Training for Chairs · Perth, Western Australia
Most people who chair meetings have never had a minute’s training. They learned by watching someone else, who also had no training. Let’s break the cycle.
“Start with ‘What do you think?’ rather than ‘I think we should.’ Those four words will transform your meetings.”
Every time you chair, your leadership is on show
Most people who attend meetings have a low opinion of the person in the chair. Not because the chair isn’t smart or capable, but because chairing is a skill, and skills need to be learned.
Great chairs know why the organisation exists. That purpose gives the meeting focus and drives well-considered decisions.
They understand the mechanics of meetings, with an armoury of tools and strategies to manage the people as well as the business.
A well-run meeting earns a chair enormous regard. For anyone climbing the ladder, it’s a high-priority skill.
Setting the pace
Every meeting has a rhythm. In almost every piece of music, the drummer starts first and everyone takes their timing from the drums. When you chair, you’re the drummer. Speed things up. Slow them down. Every now and then, add a cymbal: a deep-dive question that gets to the nub of the issue.
Then there’s the bass drum, the one played constantly with the foot pedal. The untrained ear can’t hear it, but stop it and the music loses a lot. Keep your foot on the pedal. It gives the meeting stability.
Watch and listen for the silent drum. It’s the key to a well-run meeting.
Reading the meeting means knowing
The charismatic chairperson
Charisma is something everyone recognises and almost nobody can define. In a meeting, the charismatic chair isn’t the one doing all the talking. They’re the one who makes everyone else feel heard, valued and energised, and somehow gets more done in less time than anyone thought possible. They have three qualities in abundance.
Everyone is treated equally, without bias. Thankfully, it’s the least rare of the three. Meetings without it are painful for everyone.
Procedure and behaviour are managed with authority. In my research, the second most commonly missing quality.
The discussion keeps moving towards a decision. The quality most consistently missing in meeting chairs.
A useful reframe
Chess, football or a board meeting: every game needs rules and strategy. The player who knows the rules but has no strategy rarely wins. The one with both consistently gets the outcome they’re after.
Most meetings have no written rules at all, which means confusion at worst and ineffectiveness at best. One of the most powerful things a chair can do is agree a simple set of meeting guidelines with the group before they’re needed. Solving a problem in the heat of the moment is always harder than solving it by a process everyone already agreed to.
Two styles of leadership in meetings
The best outcome for the group
The outcome they personally want
Don’t seek it, and receive it in abundance
Demand it, and often get the opposite
Action, because people want to follow through
Agreement in the room, little action afterwards
The most counterintuitive truth about chairing
The more a chair speaks, the less effective they are. The charismatic chair asks questions, draws out the wisdom in the room and gives their own opinion last, if at all. When everyone has spoken, there’s often nothing left for the chair to add. The group has already arrived.
Leading Productive Meetings
The principles behind every well-run meeting
The best-run meetings follow the 3GN philosophy. Keep it front of mind and decisions become more inclusive of the wider group, with clarity, engagement and a focus on results. Another way to put it:
Doing the right thing. At the right time.In the right way.
Ground rules for the chair
“Our task is not to fix the blame for the past. It’s to fix the course for the future.” John F. Kennedy
Learn from someone with runs on the board
I’m often engaged as an impartial chair for difficult, contentious meetings of 100 people or more. When procedure and etiquette must be perfect, organisations trust a chair who knows the process like the back of his hand.
“When my board had some differences of opinion around meetings and procedure, I engaged David as a recognised expert in the field of meetings and governance. He listened to the points of view around the room and then carefully explained what should be done to maintain good governance.”Margaret Thomas JP · Mayor of Kalamunda · CEO/CFO Retirees WA
“David is the absolute superhero in all things meetings. He is the best presenter, as he makes learning fun and interactive. A man of action!”J Gray · Regional Service Delivery Manager, The Smith Family
“An excellent workshop with practical exercises and worthwhile information delivered in an entertaining manner. Inspired with hands-on tools you want to apply immediately.”Luiza Gawel · City of Rockingham
About David
You don’t have to be born with charisma. You develop it by working on your behaviour, consciously and consistently, every time you chair. Seek feedback. Act on it. Be firm, be fair, stay focused.
I’ve spent more than 40 years working with leaders, boards, councils and organisations across Australia and internationally, and I’ve written four books on meetings. The charismatic chair is simply someone who decided to get serious about one of the most common, and most neglected, leadership skills.
Questions
Yes. Chairing is a skill, not a personality trait. Most chairs have simply never been trained. With the right tools and some practice in the chair, anyone can learn to run meetings that are fair, firm and focused.
Fairness, Firmness and Focus. Fairness means everyone gets a genuine hearing. Firmness means procedure and behaviour are managed. Focus keeps the discussion moving towards a decision. Focus is the quality most often missing.
Less than you think. The more a chair speaks, the less effective they are. Ask questions, draw out the wisdom in the room and give your own view last, if at all.
The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number. It’s a lens for every decision the meeting makes, so outcomes are more inclusive and the politics shrink.
Nobody speaks a second time until everyone who wants to has spoken once. It stops one or two voices dominating and brings quieter people into the discussion.
It’s hands-on. I explain, I demonstrate, then you practise. Every participant is hot-seat coached as chair in mock meetings. I run it for boards, councils, committees and leadership teams, in person in Perth and across Australia, and online.
Yes. For difficult or contentious meetings, I work as an independent, impartial chair. See my Impartial Chair page for details.
Ready to take the chair?
Whether you’re a new chair, an experienced one who wants to lift the bar, or an organisation that wants every meeting run well, let’s talk.
Chairing a board? See Effective Board Meetings. Want the formal rules too? See Meeting Procedures.