Negative Ninnies & Numpties not wanted here!

A fine Scottish word not used enough.

The first ever AGM of the Waterford Business Group (WBG) takes place in The Granville Hotel on Tuesday 26^th May 2015. This will in many ways be a historic moment for the Committee and the Members of this organisation.

As one of the founding members the WBG I can proudly say that the work ethic of the Group is second to none and the subsequent results achieved, by this entirely voluntary body, have over the last twelve months been nothing short of remarkable.

I sometimes have to pinch myself and quite literally say “Did we really achieve and influence so much in only two years since the Group’s foundation!”

The answer is of course a big fat YES! Driven people can achieve so much by working together.

Organisations set their foundations for success by the very people that drive said organisation and when you are specifically dealing with voluntary committees then the dynamic formed from within that committee will lead either to short-term failure or long-term achievement.

 

So, how do you ensure that your Committee is dynamic, positive, enthusiastic, committed and driven to achieve continually changing goals? And let face it most Committees are, to put it quite bluntly, lazy, weak, devoid of creative ideas and in reality are “closed for business!”

There are a number of critical guidelines you should consider when at the formation stage of any group or organisation to ensure your committee is fit for purpose. And here are few of my tips for building such a strong Committee:

·       You must ALL bring a “Can do attitude” to the group – negative ninnies and numpties are not wanted here!

·       An infectious enthusiasm is a prerequisite – let us start working together and achieving real results.

·       Leave your prejudices outside the Committee – first impression are not always right or correct.

·       Agree the Committee and Organisation’s goals – clearly defined goals will keep focus and set a course for achieving real results.

·       Members MUST have a mutual interest in overcoming obstacles – if you simply give up at the first NO, then the Committee will fail to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.

·       Learn to develop the Committee and Organisation – be prepared to adapt and change.

·       Set up a good communication structure - POOR communication within the Committee is one of the biggest problems within a group.

·       Set your ground rules early – members need to know what is and what is not acceptable.

·       What happens in the Committee stays in the Committee – confidentiality is essential and vital if there is to be trust from within the group.

·       Participants must be present to have their say – you cannot be an absent Committee Member and expect to contribute to the groups goals. If you are not there you have no say and you might even introduce a miss three meetings and you are OUT policy!

·       Disagreement is part of the process – this is also necessary to move the group on and must be directed at the task in hand and never at an individual from within the Committee.

·       At ALL times respect must be shown to fellow members – listen to fellow members, each member has the right to say “No”, each member has the right to disagree and each member has the right to express their own opinion.

Once you set out the above ground rules and guidelines then a Committee can get on with the process of delivering the Organisation’s goals. But before you progress you may wish to make sure that the makeup of the Committee is fit for purpose by ensuring you have the following personalities within the Committee:

·       The Plant – creative, imaginative, solves difficult problems

·       The Resource Investigator – enthusiastic extrovert, communicative, develops contacts

The Specialist!

·       The Coordinator – mature, confident, would make a good Chairperson

·       The Shaper – challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure

·       The Evaluator – strategic, discerning, judges accurately

·       The Team Worker – cooperative, perceptive, diplomatic

·       The Implementer – disciplined, reliable, efficient

·       The Finisher - painstaking, conscientious, anxious

·       The Specialist - single-minded, self-starting, dedicated

Your Committee can of course be made up of a combination of the above and a number of other talents but these are the very basic requirements, in my experience, that are needed to ensure a Committee will achieve the goals that the Group or Organisation set themselves.

The Finisher - boy do I need one of these!

Luckily, the Waterford Business Group have the above skill set and much, much more from the Committee members, and this is why at next week’s historic first AGM the Group will review it’s many, many achievements since the formation in 2013 and set out its goals for the coming twelve months ahead.

Whilst many readers may not be aware of the work covered by the Waterford Business Group I can assure you that they will be working very, very hard over the next twelve months to regain the City’s status as the fourth City of Ireland.

But this cannot be done by individuals alone. So we must ALL support the great work ethic of the many excellent voluntary organisations working on behalf of the people of Waterford.

To this extent I applaud every one of these voluntary organisations that are making a REAL difference to ALL of our lives.