Evaluating Significant Documents & Policies

Retain us to evaluate applicable documents from the following list:

• Mission, vision, strategy and value statements.
• Conflict of interest and Confidentiality policies
• Code of conduct.
• Dispute resolution procedures.
• Orientation program.
• Minutes of meetings
  

• Are policies and governing documents relevant to today's realities?
• Are documents clear, concise and unambiguous?
• Are documents written in plain language? Is the format "reader-friendly"?
• Are policies logical, realistic and enforceable?
• Are policies too restrictive or are they "enabling"?
• Are policies fair and reasonable?

 Identifying Flaws in Decision Making Structures

Retain us to inspect the foundation for shared decision making and identify flaws that may be causing dysfunctions. As a part of our assessment, we may need to interview leaders and decision makers, attend and observe meetings, or listen to and analyze tapes of meetings.

Areas we can analyze and comment on include:

• Decision making team's mandate (see questions to consider).
• Allocation of decision making powers (see questions to consider)
• Size and composition of decision making team (see questions to consider).
• Team member & leader selection processes (see questions to consider)
• Team orientation & on-going education (see questions to consider)
• Effectiveness of team leader (see questions to consider)
• Effectiveness of team members (see questions to consider)
• Team's relationship with support staff (see questions to consider)
• Team's relationship with subordinate committees (see questions to consider)
• Team's relationships with the larger community (see questions to consider)
• Feedback and dispute resolution processes (see questions to consider)
• Team's ethics, culture & "rules of engagement" (see questions to consider)

 Helping You Deal with Dysfunctions

Dysfunctions are costly. They can waste resources, distract you from your core mandate, lead to bad decisions, and expose the organization to risk.

Retain us for advice on addressing team-level dysfunctions, such as:

• A lack of sophistication or awareness of the magnitude of decisions made.
• Apathy, low commitment levels, and a search for the easiest way out.
• A tendency to avoid tough issues or pretend they do not exist.
• Confusion or disputes over who controls the agenda.
• Fear of change and a tendency to instinctively embrace the status quo.
• A tendency to quickly dismiss ideas from "outside the box".
• Fragmentation, turf protection, and the promotion of self-interest.
• Acceptance of bad meetings as a fact of life.
• Hesitancy to express legitimate concerns for fear of becoming unpopular.
• Impatience, "leaping to solution-mode", and ending discussions prematurely.
• Behind the scene lobbying, alliance building and backstabbing.
• Use of rules of order to manipulate, subvert and disrupt.
• Majorities always over-powering minorities.

 Helping You Work with Difficult Team Members

Retain us to help you deal with difficult team members, who:

• Act unilaterally and outside their scope of authority.
• Leak confidential information to outside parties.
• Place narrow interests ahead of broad organizational interests.
• Violate conflict of interest guidelines.
• Routinely miss meetings, arrive late or leave early.
• Provide significant information too late in the decision making process.
• Dominate, intimidate, manipulate and disrupt meetings.
• Do not prepare for meetings.
• Come to meetings with closed minds.
• Always oppose and attack but never propose anything.
• Are "closet parliamentarians" who nitpick and insist on absolute procedural accuracy.
  

 Facilitating Organizational Renewal Programs

Combating dysfunctions tends to be a reactive task, similar to finding and plugging a leak in a building. There are times when "repair" will not do and a full "renovation" is needed. Organizational renewal and re-structuring can be complex and challenging.

We can help you by planning and leading the organizational renewal and re-structuring process. Specifically, we can do the following:

• Involve members in identifying structural problems that need to be addressed
• Involve members in developing options to reinforce the decision making foundation.
• Lead consensus-building sessions, intended to reduce risk and maximize opportunities
• Resolve sticky issues and establish comfort with the outcomes.
• Prepare a transition plan from the current structures to the new ones.