The Role

of the Chairperson
 Booklets in this Series

The Role of the Chairperson

The Role of the Secretary

The Role of the Treasurer

The Role of the Public Relations Officer

My Role as a Member of a Committee

Structures, Constitution and Annual General Meeting

Recruiting Volunteers
Project Planning

Useful Information for Voluntary Organisations

Fundraising
 The Role of Chairperson

Cathaoirleach is the Irish for chairperson

and it is gender neutral!

Content:

Role of Chairperson

Facilitating Committee Meetings

Leading the Organisation

Skills of a Chairperson

The Committee Meeting

During the Meeting

Decision Making

Practical Decision Making

Decision Making Summary

After the Meeting

1
 THE ROLE OF THE CHAIRPERSON

The role of the chairperson is to lead the organisation and to

facilitate the committee meetings.

FACILITATING COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The chairperson is responsible for the planning and running of

committee meetings and should encourage the full
participation of other committee members.

Definition of facilitation
“To make an action or result more easily achieved”

The success of a meeting is highly dependant on the skills of

the chair.

2
To lead effectively, the chair requires knowledge of the format
of the meeting and also requires good interpersonal skills.
Through good leadership, a chair will arouse enthusiasm for
the organisation. When necessary they lead discussions but
they should also encourage others to debate and discuss.

Definition of leadership characteristics: “someone who

has the ability to inspire confidence and support among
the people who are needed to achieve goals of their
organisation”.

Effective leaders:

• Handle difficult people and situations with tact and

diplomacy
• Listen well and are empathetic
• Manage change well
• Respect and relate to people from varied backgrounds
• Are sensitive to group differences
• Acknowledge people’s strengths
• Provide good feedback
• Motivate the team
• Inspire confidence in themselves
• Have confidence in others
• Support people to develop their confidence

The above characteristics can be learned and developed!

3
 LEADING THE ORGANISATION

To lead an organisaton successfully, you need an overall view of

the work of the organisation.

Tasks include:

• Planning meetings with the secretary

• Holding meetings as necessary
• Checking that all necessary information is made available
to committee members
• Supporting all members of the organisation in their
various roles
• Representing the organisation externally
• Ensuring that plans decided on in meetings are
implemented
• Guiding the organisation’s functions according to their
agreed strategy/policy

It is essential that the chairperson knows and understands the

group’s constitution, its aims and objectives, its history, its
financial situation and its main current issues.

4
 SKILLS OF A CHAIRPERSON

In order to be effective, the chairperson needs the following

attributes:

• Good listening skills

• Competency in planning/organising
• Ability to question
• Enthusiasm
• Ability to let go of control
• A sense of humour
• Good motivational skills
• Confidence
• Skills in managing group conflict
• Ability to instil confidence in others
• Ability to understand and guide the process or task
• Ability to clarify and reflect on issues
• Ability to communicate clearly
• Teambuilding skills
• Good timekeeping

All the above skills can be learned! It

may be useful to engage an outside
facilitator to assist in skills building
within the organisation.

5
 THE COMMITTEE MEETING

In some organisations, the chair of meetings is rotated

between committee members, giving everyone an
opportunity to run a meeting. There is a clear distinction
between a chair of a meeting and a chair of an
organisation. The chair of a meeting is appointed to take
responsibility for the running of a particular meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting the chairperson should:

• Ensure there is a quorum (a minimum number of

members required to take a decision, this is generally
written into the Constitution)
• Welcome people
• Introduce newcomers or visitors, or ask everyone to
introduce themselves
• Ask for apologies for absence
• Briefly explain the agenda: explain which items will need
decisions, which are for discussion and which are for
consultation. Then allocate discussion time for each
agenda item.
• Ask committee members if there are any other items for
inclusion and indicate whether they will be added to the
agenda or covered under ‘any other business’ (A.O.B).
• Agree whether there will be a break during the meeting
and agree a time to finish

The agenda forms a contract. Any new items brought up during

the meeting should be deferred. Otherwise the meeting
becomes difficult to chair. These items can then form the
agenda for the next meeting.

6
 DURING THE MEETING

A good chairperson is non directive and allows each person

in the group to use their experience, knowledge and skills
as a learning resource for the group as a whole.

When facilitating a meeting the chair needs to ensure that:

• Meetings start and finish on time

• Newcomers are welcomed and introductions are made
• The minutes of the previous meeting are agreed and
signed off
• The committee are clear about the purpose of the
meeting
• Order is kept at meetings
• Points are not raised if they do not relate to the agenda
• Nobody monopolises the meeting
• The language is “jargon” free and clarification is sought
when necessary.
• Good time keeping is kept to ensure that all items have a
fair airing
• Nobody re-opens a question which has already been
decided
• The chair shows a balanced interest through the meeting
• Issues raised by members of the committee are
acknowledged
• A response is made to members waiting to speak
• Decisions are implemented
• The chair summarises and clarifies the decisions made
at the end of each agenda item and ensures decisions
and action points are understood and recorded; who does
what, where, when, & how.

7
An effective chairperson seeks to:
• empower
• include
• encourage
• challenge
• value personal experience
• be respectful and non-judgemental

How to keep a meeting moving in a focused way

Question the committee to get information:

‘Does anyone have experience of this sort of problem?’
‘Áine, I understand you have experience of organising a
Céilidh, how did you go about it?’

Question the committee to draw out possible solutions:

‘Does anyone have any ideas about how to deal with this?’
’How did the committee deal with this last year?’

Question the committee following a question asked by a

member of the group:
‘That is a difficult question, how would the rest of you
deal with it?’ ‘Thank you for making that point, has
anyone else got an opinion on it?’

Question a named individual to draw on their expertise or

to draw out a quiet member of the committee. Start this
type of question with the persons name:
‘Anne, how did your group resolve this issue?’,
‘Sean, do you have any ideas how to ..?’

8
 DECISION MAKING

The constitution of an organisation may specify which decisions

are made by the board, committee or the organisation as a
whole. However, the constitution does not usually cover rules
for day-to-day decision making.

It is essential to have
policies in place to govern
day-to-day decision making.
Without clear policies and
procedures it is difficult to
establish what someone
should or should not do in a
particular situation. Having
clear policies makes
decision making easier.

Policies and procedures are needed in order to clarify:

• Decision making methods and procedures

• Who decides what, where, when and how
• Who is accountable to whom
• Who is authorised to make decisions
• What procedures take place if there are disagreements
about decisions
• Who is consulted or involved in the decision making
process of the organisation
• How can emergency decisions be made between
committee meetings

These policies and procedures can be prepared by a

subcommittee and approved by the whole committee (for
further information see booklet “Structures, Constitution and
Annual General Meeting”).

9
 PRACTICAL DECISION MAKING

The following diagram can assist in the decision making

process.

Example: the committee have to make a decision on whether to

allow a teenage disco to take place in their hall.

What are the disadvantages (-) of not holding the disco?

What are the advantages (+) of not holding the disco?

What are the advantages (+) of holding the disco?

What are the disadvantages (-) of holding the disco?

Listing the plusses and minuses of both options will generally

produce a well thought out decision.

The following is a brief example – would you hold the disco????

10
 Advantage of Not Holding Advantages of Holding

The hall is free for Young People have

something else somewhere to go

Less work for committee Gain popularity with parents

to organise
Raise funds for organisation

Disadvantage of Not Holding Disadvantage of Holding

Young People have nowhere A need to find supervisors

to go
Organisations won’t appear
active in the community
Time commitment of
committee
Expectation that it will
become a regular event

Proposing and Seconding

Once a decision is made at a meeting it generally needs to be

proposed and seconded:

1. A proposer puts forward the proposal or motion and then

it is seconded by someone else.
2. If nobody seconds it, then the motion or proposal is dropped.
3. Amendments to the motion may then be proposed and
seconded.
4. Each amendment is voted on before the final motion is
agreed.

In very informal meetings there may not be proposals and

seconding. Instead the chair will ask for a decision by
consensus or voting. The community development model seeks
to use consensus as a method of reaching agreement.

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 DECISION MAKING - SUMMARY

The chair should ensure that everyone has the necessary

information before decisons are made.

Before asking for a decision, the chair should summarise the

main points of the discussion, explain possible courses of
action and state clearly what the committee is being asked to
decide.

Reviewing the Decision Making Process

The chairperson may find

that a meeting is not
productive and that
decisions are not made.
The lack of decision
making may be because:

• The committee is not

certain what they
were deciding about.
It is the responsibility
of each member of
the committee to
raise their concerns
and seek clarification
with the chairperson.

• Some people lack the

confidence to make a
decision. A good chair will work towards providing a safe
environment. A committee will become ineffective if only a
few people participate in the decision making process.

12
• The committee doesn’t have adequate information. For
example, if a new piece of equipment is to be purchased,
but the committee member who has checked out the
types of equipment available is not at the meeting, it may
be difficult to make a decision.

• The commitee doesn’t have adequate skills to make a

decision. In, for example, the case of a scout hut roof
leaking, discussions can range around replacing the roof
or patching it. But, until you have clear professional
advice provided by a roofer/builder you cannot make a
well thought out and informed decision.

13
 AFTER THE MEETING

A good chairperson ensures the effectiveness of a meeting and

should spend time reflecting on the meeting afterwards.

This can be done with the aid of the following questionnaire.

Review of the Decision Making Process

Please answer by ticking the appropriate point on the scale for

each question.

1. To what extent did members of the group really listen to each

other in the discussions and decision making?

NOT AT ALL 0…..1…..2…..3…..4…..5 VERY CAREFULLY

2. To what extent did everyone participate and become involved in

the group discussions?

NOT AT ALL 0…..1…..2…..3…..4…..5 VERY FULLY

3. To what extent was decision making shared by all members?

Was it dominated by one person, or a few members?

DOMINATED 0…..1…..2…..3…..4…..5 PARTICIPATED

4. To what extent did the group have clear objectives and agree
upon the factors to be taken into account in the decisions?

NOT AT ALL 0…..1…..2…..3…..4…..5 VERY CLEAR

5. To what extent did the group allocate it's time effectively by

planning its work for the period available?

NOT AT ALL 0…..1…..2…..3…..4…..5 WELL PLANNED

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6. How satisfied are you personally with the resulting decisions
which your group has arrived at and its performance on the
whole?

NOT VERY 0…..1…..2…..3…..4…..5 VERY SATISFIED

7. To what extent were you able to resolve any conflicts and

disagreements in the group?

AVOIDED 0…..1…..2…..3…..4…..5 PROPERLY RESOLVED

8. To what extent do you feel that your group identified and used
the special skills and expertise of the members?

NOT AT ALL 0…..1…..2…..3…..4…..5 SKILLS USED WELL

The role of the chairperson of an organisation is multi-

dimensional, interesting, exciting and challenging.

If you are new to this role and would like assistance, please
contact Laois Partnership Co. Telephone: 057-8662732 / 057-
8661900

Remember that all the roles of a chair can be learned!

It is recommended that a chairperson is familiar with all the

areas covered in this series of booklets.

15
 Bibliography

Ag Teacht chun Blatha/Towards Full Bloom, A Guide for Community

Groups, Wexford County Development Board, 2004

Just About Managing, Sandy Adirondack, 3rd Ed, London Voluntary

Services Council, 1998.

www.carmichaelcentre.ie

www.ncvo-vol.org.uk

www.tosach.ie

Artwork by Wayne Maguire, Gearhies, Bantry. 027 61323

16
 Useful Websites:

www.laoispartnership.ie
www.wheel.ie
www.activelink.ie
www.volunteeringireland.ie
www.volunteer.ie
www.pobal.ie
www.laois.ie
www.laoiscommunityforum.ie
www.laoisvec.ie
www.laoischildcare.ie
www.laoissports.ie
www.citizensinformationboard.ie , www.cidb.ie
www.fundingpoint.ie
www.communityfoundation.ie
www.hsa.ie
www.cro.ie
www.combatpoverty.ie
www.tosach.ie
www.carmichaelcentre.ie
www.ruralcommunitynetwork.org
www.irlfunds.org
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk
www.voluntaryarts.org
www.artscouncil.ie
www.sandy-a.co.uk
www.valonline.org.uk

These Booklets were produced in collaboration with

West Cork Development Partnership,

Bantry, Co. Cork. Tel: 027-52266

and

McKinley Associates (Training and Facilitation),

Bantry, Co. Cork. Tel: 028-32946
 LAOIS PARTNERSHIP COMPANY
2 Park Villas,
Harpurs Lane,
Portlaoise,
Co. Laois.
Tel: (057) 866 1900
Fax: (057) 867 8043
Email: info@laoispartnership.ie
Website: www.laoispartnership.ie

DELIVERING THESE PROGRAMMES

TO THE PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES OF LAOIS:
• Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 • Local & Community Development Programme
• FÁS Jobs Club • FÁS Local Training Initiatives
• Community Childcare Subvention Scheme • Walk Schemes for Laois/Offaly
• FÁS Community Employment Scheme • Rural Social Scheme
• FETAC Certified Training • Back To Education Initiative
• Tús – Community Work Placement • STEPP (Services To Elderly People in Portlaoise)

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