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Effective CommitteesJannette Collins, MD, MEd

A committee is a group of people officially delegated to perform a function, such as investigating, considering,reporting, or acting on a matter. Some committees function like task forces and work on specific, time-limitedprojects. When the work is finished, the committees are no longer needed. These committees are called ad hoccommittees. Other committees are standing committees. They are created by the standing orders, rules, by-laws, orregulations of an organization and exist and function indefinitely (eg, finance, membership, education, nomination).Both types of committees can form subcommittees if the workloads are heavy or complex in nature. Committees canbe among the most important working forces of an organization. They serve as work units of the organization, takingwork and breaking it into meaningful and manageable chunks. They efficiently carry out the work of the organiza-tion. Committee work should be a rewarding experience for both the members and the organization. Committeesrepresent, involve, and serve members, as well as provide an important training ground for future leaders of anorganization. New or inexperienced members can gain valuable insight into an organization and develop confidenceby serving on committees. There are several key elements of effective committees, including (1) a clear, writtenpurpose; (2) an effective committee chair; (3) thoughtfully appointed members; and (4) well-run meetings.

Key Words: Committees, committee chair, running committee meetings, committee members

J Am Coll Radiol 2012;9:181-184. Copyright © 2012 American College of Radiology

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committee is a group of people officially delegated toerform a function, such as investigating, considering,eporting, or acting on a matter [1]. Some committeesunction like task forces and work on specific, time-imited projects. When the work is finished, the commit-ees are no longer needed. These committees are called adoc committees. Other committees are standing com-ittees. They are created by the standing orders, rules,

y-laws, or regulations of an organization and exist andunction indefinitely (eg, finance, membership, educa-ion, nomination, promotions, credentials, medical exec-tive, radiation safety). Both types of committees canorm subcommittees if the workloads are heavy or com-lex in nature.Committees can be among the most important work-

ng forces of an organization. They serve as work units ofhe organization, taking work and breaking it into mean-ngful and manageable chunks [2]. They efficiently carryut the work of the organization. Committee workhould be a rewarding experience for both the membersnd the organization. Committees represent, involve,nd serve members, as well as provide an importantraining ground for future leaders of an organization.ew or inexperienced members can gain valuable in-

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Corresponding author and reprints: Jannette Collins, MD, MEd, Univer-sity of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 234 Goodman Street, PO Box670761, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0761; e-mail: jannette.collins@uchealth.

com.

© 2012 American College of Radiology0091-2182/12/$36.00 ● DOI 10.1016/j.jacr.2011.09.007

ight into an organization and develop confidence byerving on committees.

There are several key elements of effective committees,ncluding (1) a clear, written purpose; (2) an effectiveommittee chair; (3) thoughtfully appointed members;nd (4) well-run meetings [3].

COMMITTEE PURPOSEMany organizations have too many committees, often withunclear responsibilities. The scope and purpose of commit-tees should be carefully defined so that the committees areresponsible for conducting meaningful work that advancesthe goals of the organization. The authority of a committeeshould also be defined. Does a committee have governingauthority or is it advisory only? The specific tasks and re-sponsibilities of a committee should be clear. For example,the charge of a rules committee may be as follows:

The Rules Committee will prepare changes or amendments to therules of operation and regulations for presentation to the ExecutiveCommittee. Upon approval, they will be presented to the member-ship at the annual meeting for approval. The chair of the RulesCommittee will serve as parliamentarian during the annual businessmeeting of the society.

It should be clear to whom a committee reports and whatkind of reporting is required. Many committees report to aboard or executive committee through oral or written re-ports from the committee chair. It should be clear howcommittee members are chosen, what their terms of office

are, and how vacancies are filled. Any budget or other re-

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sources that a committee will need to complete its taskshould be defined.

Take-Home Points: How a Committee Should BeDefined

● Scope● Authority● Specific tasks and responsibilities● Person or entity to whom the committee reports● What reporting is required● How members are chosen and their terms of office● Budget and other resources

COMMITTEE CHAIRThe committee chair should be selected with careful con-sideration. The chair is not necessarily the technical expertof a committee. It is more important that the person workwell with others, organize effectively, motivate others, keeppeople on task, and have good communication skills. Al-though it is important that the chair have content knowl-edge and experience relevant to the work of a committee, itis more important that the chair have proven leadership andpeople skills that are essential if the committee is to workeffectively [3]. The chair should be more interested in acommittee’s success than in his or her own feelings of per-sonal importance. Responsibilities of the chair include pre-paring and presenting committee reports, ensuring that asuccessor is groomed to assume the chair’s role in the future,setting agendas, calling meetings, and ensuring that allmembers have the opportunity to contribute [4]. The chairassigns responsibilities to committee members and followsup to make sure assigned work is being done. The chairmust know how to involve others and motivate them to dothe work of the committee. The chair is responsible forrecruiting committee members or recommending potentialmembers to the president of the organization, orienting newmembers, and reporting to the board or executive commit-tee. Even the most active group can lose support if volun-teers are left to flounder. It is not enough to capture a longlist of names on a committee sign-up sheet. The chair mustengage volunteers in meaningful, challenging, and reward-ing work. The chair must be acquainted with the goals of theorganization and understand the committee’s role in achiev-ing them. By being familiar with the organization’s by-laws,standing rules, policies, and precedents, the chair will be ableto properly address unexpected issues.

A good chair will make all members feel welcome, strivefor consensus, listen to others, encourage new faces to jointhe committee, plan for the future, make new members feelwelcome, allow others to take responsibility, remain calm,and know when to stand down. The chair should not be theperson who talks the most at meetings, makes all the deci-sions, allows one or two people to dominate meetings, cutspeople out of discussions, allows meetings to become un-productive, makes people feel foolish or useless, forces peo-

ple to contribute to discussions, loses his or her temper, or

tays too long [5]. The chair should communicate withembers regularly, praise members’ good work in writing

nd verbally, and maintain a sense of humor.In many cases, the best chair will be a senior member

f the organization because this person will project aense of authority and have the political clout to influ-nce others. A senior committee member will also benefitrom knowing how a committee functions and will bringnstitutional memory to committee discussions.

Take-Home Points: Role of the Committee Chair

● Prepare and present committee reports● Groom a successor● Set agendas● Call meetings● Allow all members an opportunity to contribute● Motivate members● Assist in recruiting members● Orient new members● Report to the board or executive committee● Be acquainted with the goals of the organization and

the charge of the committee● Listen to members● Communicate regularly with members● Recognize member contributions

COMMITTEE MEMBERSMost committee members are volunteers, and as with otherforms of volunteer recruitment, every effort should be madeto match the needs and requirements of a committee andthe skills, knowledge, and interest of its prospective mem-bers. It is the responsibility of the committee chair to tellprospective committee members what is expected of them(eg, attendance at the annual meeting, 40 hours per yeardevoted to committee work) and their terms of office so thatthey are aware of the nature of their commitment. Commit-tee size is governed by the amount and nature of the group’swork. Recommendations range from 3 to 9 members [6].Larger groups are able to solve a greater variety of problemsbecause of the varied skills of many members. Smallergroups tend to be more coordinated and focused. When atask requires broad input, additional members may enhancegroup performance. However, there is a point beyondwhich committee size should not increase. As group sizeincreases, coordination of the group becomes difficult. Itcan be hard to find a time when all group members canmeet. When a group requires interaction, consensus, andmodification of opinion, the task is often better solved witha smaller group. Some organizations allow for larger com-mittee sizes as a means of getting as many people as possibleinvolved in the detail work of the organization. Committeeappointments can be used to learn more about an individ-ual’s commitment to the organization and to observe thatperson’s skills and personality traits. It can be a valuable toolfor developing and testing new leadership, while cultivating

a deeper level of commitment to an organization [4].

Collins/Effective Committees 183

Membership should include all important constituentsof the larger organization. For example, a departmental ed-ucation committee should include the program director,clerkship director, chief residents, representative facultymembers, and program coordinators. An operations com-mittee should include hospital radiology directors, depart-mental section chiefs, head nurses, radiology managers, hos-pital vice presidents charged with imaging services, and soon. Some committee chairs will purposely populate com-mittees with one or more members who have opposingviews. This serves the purpose of making a committee lookat issues more broadly and allows an opportunity for thosewith opposing viewpoints to be heard. The by-laws of theorganization should define who is eligible to serve, howmembers are selected, how the chair is appointed, and thesize of the committee.

Many committees will need the support of a staff liai-son with a clearly defined responsibility who works inpartnership with the committee chair. This personshould be responsible for providing administrative sup-port and staff-level details and for ensuring that commit-tee members have the information and resources theyneed. The work of a committee chair will be greater whenthere is no administrative aide. Professional societies of-ten provide staff assistance. The assistant reminds thechair of the need to schedule meetings, assists in sched-uling meetings and securing a meeting site, arranges forfood if appropriate, takes minutes, follows up on actionitems, and serves as a liaison between the committee chairand other members of the organization. Hospitals alsogenerally provide staff support for standing committees.If the level of staffing within a department does not allowfor this type of assistance, the committee chair may del-egate one or more tasks to committee members. Aca-demic radiology departments generally employ adminis-trative assistants and other personnel who can serve thisrole. For example, the department business administra-tor might chair the departmental finance committee.The residency program director usually chairs the depart-mental education committee, but much of the work insetting up the meetings and taking minutes is often per-formed by the program coordinator. This does not re-lieve the chair of all responsibilities, and the chair, as wellas all members of a committee, will agree to volunteertheir time because of a sense of civic responsibility.

Committee rosters should be posted in a convenient lo-cation for members of an organization to access, such as theorganization’s Web site. Ideally, the charge of a committee isincluded, along with the names of the committee members.If the terms of each member (including starting and enddates) are included, there will be a clear record of how longeach member has served and when new members need to bechosen. If the roster includes committee members’ contactinformation, access to the roster on a Web site is generally

password protected and available to members only.

COMMITTEE MEETINGSGreat committee meetings do not just happen. They areplanned by the committee chair and staff liaison through anaction-oriented agenda [4]. Dates should be set well in ad-vance to maximize the number of members available toattend. If standing meetings are scheduled to recur on acertain day of the month at a certain time, members can putthis on their calendars and schedule other activities aroundthe meetings. Sending reminder notices can also enhanceattendance. Documents that will be discussed should bedistributed well in advance. The chair can communicatewith committee members individually before a meeting togain consensus and learn about potential conflicts. This canlead to a more efficiently run meeting and is particularlyimportant when the committee is charged with developingpolicies that are controversial. For example, if the financecommittee is asked to develop a departmental compensa-tion plan that recognizes clinical and academic productivity,there are bound to be opposing views regarding how muchto award each activity. Discussions can become heated andpersonal, which can stifle objectivity and open thinking. Orthe scope of the charge might be too complex for a commit-tee to tackle without having a template to use as a spring-board for discussion. When the chair presents a plan afterinformal discussions with key committee members before ameeting, it helps narrow the committee’s focus of discus-sion. Premeeting discussions also provide an opportunityfor committee members to share their views in a nonthreat-ening environment.

Meetings should occur in a location that is convenientand appropriate for the size and work of the group. Thereshould be enough chairs for every member who willbe attending. Every meeting should start with a welcomemessage. The chair should not assume that everyone knowsone another and should ask members to introduce them-selves. The chair should acknowledge people by name. Thisallows committee members to develop relationships, ensur-ing that they will work together. The chair should be enthu-siastic and set a positive tone; his or her excitement will ruboff on others. The chair should create an informal andrelaxed atmosphere. Doing something as simple as putting abag of candy at each member’s place at the table on Valen-tine’s Day or recognizing a member’s birthday with a cakeand card signed by the members can help create a collegial,fun, and nonthreatening environment conducive to open-ness and sharing of ideas. If guests are invited, they should befirst on the agenda. The chair should introduce the guests,thank them for their time and allow them to leave whenthey are finished.

Effective meetings start with an agenda that is distributedto members before the meeting, along with any documentsthat will be discussed at the meeting. Extra copies can beavailable at the meeting if desired. Alternatively, memberscan be instructed to bring their own copies, either printed oron an electronic device. If there are spreadsheets that need to

be reviewed and it is important for members to refer to data

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during the discussion, the information can be projected on ascreen for members to see. The agenda items should includethe title of the meeting; its date, time, and location; approvalof the minutes of the last meeting; reports from subgroups;old business; new business; announcements; and the date,time, and location of the next meeting. If there are numer-ous subcommittee reports that are for informational pur-poses only, a consent agenda can be created whereby thoseitems can be acknowledged at the beginning of the meetingand not further discussed. Before approving the consentagenda, any member can request that an item be removedfrom the consent agenda. This tactic can save hours of timethat can be used for items that require longer discussion ordecision making.

Meetings should start and end on time. This showsrespect for everyone’s time and may influence members’decisions to attend future meetings. The chair should callthe meeting to order and announce the purpose of themeeting. It is the responsibility of the chair to monitortime and keep the committee on task. Business should beconducted one item at a time. Jumping around from oneitem to another can be confusing and generally delaysprogress on any of the items. The chair should cut offdiscussion when it becomes redundant. When discussionbecomes circular, the chair can summarize the points oneach side and ask for any new information or shut offdiscussion by calling for a motion. The chair shouldencourage members to speak up but not allow the discus-sion to get repetitive or argumentative. Both sides shouldbe heard on controversial issues. Traits of ineffectivemeetings are long discussions with no conclusion, deci-sion making on the basis of inadequate information, lowattendance, uneven participation, and unwillingnessto ask questions [7]. Meetings are more productive if theyare well planned with a clear purpose, effectively chaired,and focused on decision making. Robert’s Rules of Ordershould be followed for motions, seconds, and voting.

Member responsibilities at meetings include preparingfor the meeting, notifying the appropriate person of ab-sence in advance, listening to speakers, learning fromother people, speaking up when having something to say,asking questions if unclear or unsure, considering all theoptions and sharing views, and abiding by decisions thatare made, whether agreeing with them or not [7].

Minutes serve as the official record of the actions thatoccurred at a meeting. They also serve as legal documentsthat may be examined when an organization is being inves-tigated or sued. Therefore, it is important to keep accuratemeeting records but not to include unnecessary informationthat could prove harmful in the future [8]. Minutes should

be kept at any meeting at which people vote. They should be

oncise and include (1) the title of the meeting; (2) its date,ime, and location; (3) people present and excused (thosebsent can also be recorded); (4) corrections to minutes ofrevious meeting; (5) actions relating to previous meetings;6) items on the agenda; (7) all motions and the outcomes ofotes; (8) items to be discussed and decided; and (9) theate, time, and location of the next meeting. The names ofeople who make and second motions do not need to be

isted. Doing so can put individuals on the spot in case of aawsuit. Debate over any item should not be detailed. The

inutes should record only the facts and what is done ateetings, not what is said. Unless mandated by the organi-

ation’s by-laws, the vote count should not be listed; out-ome is enough. Minutes should be prepared as soon afterhe meeting as possible while there is a clear recollection ofhat happened, preferably the same or next day.

Take-Home Points: Elements of EffectiveCommittee Meetings

● Advance communication of meeting dates● Meeting documents distributed in advance of meeting● Introduction of members● Enthusiastic committee chair● Well-defined agenda● Consent agenda for longer meetings● Starting and ending on time● Opportunity for all members to participate● Focused discussion and decision making

REFERENCES

1. The American Heritage dictionary of the English language. 4th ed. Boston:Houghton-Mifflin; 2000.

2. Government of Alberta, Agriculture and Rural Development. Effectivecommittees. Available at: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex1333. Accessed July 29, 2011.

3. American Library Association. Effective committees: the basics. Availableat: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/aboutyalsa/yalsahandbook/effectivecommittees.pdf. Accessed July 21, 2011.

4. Mayes CH, Wilson S. Key elements of effective board committees. Avail-able at: http://www.landtrustalliance.org/about/saving-land/summer-2011/Board-Matters.pdf. Accessed July 21, 2011.

5. Volunteer Now. Characteristics of a good chairperson. Available at: http://www.diycommitteeguide.org/print/215. Accessed July 21, 2011.

6. American College of Sports Medicine. Effective committees. Available at:http://www.acsm.org/AM/PrinterTemplate.cfm?Section�About_ACSM&TEMPLATE�/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID�14118. Ac-cessed 7/21/11.

. Volunteer Now. Running effective meetings. Available at: http://www.diycommitteeguide.org/article/running-effective-meetings. Accessed July21, 2011.

. Englund SP. Meeting minutes: just the facts. Available at: http://www.

ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/220?tmpl�component&layout�print. Accessed July 21, 2011.