Roles
Roles are central to the Formal Consensus model, but it is important to understand that each role is a function of the process of a meeting, and not a function of the content. Not all roles are needed at every meeting, and when appropriate, more than one role can be held by the same individual. Roles
Agenda Planners: Prior to any meeting, an agenda planning meeting should first be conducted by a small group of Agenda Planners. The tasks which Agenda Planners must carry out include collecting agenda items, arranging items into a comprehensive agenda, assigning presenters for each topic, determining the discussion techniques to be employed, assigning time limits to each topic, and finally drafting a written version of the finalized agenda. Decisions on each of these tasks should be achieved through consensus.
Facilitator: A Facilitator is an individual responsible for ensuring that a meeting flows smoothly, and that discussion is facile. The facilitator is responsible for moving through the agenda in the time determined by the Agenda Planners. In being responsible for this, the facilitator must guide the process of the discussion and suggest techniques for resolving conflicts which arise. However, the facilitator is only responsible for providing direction on the process of the meeting, and should not participate in the content of the discussions.
Time-Keeper: This is the individual responsible for assisting the facilitator in maintaining the pre-determined time limitations for each discussion.
Public Scribe: The Scribe also assists the Facilitator, by putting major discussion points or concerns immediately relevant to the topic at hand in writing for the entire group to see. This role is helpful in allowing the group to visually keep track of points that have been raised.
Note Taker: This individual is responsible for developing and distributing a detailed written record of any given meeting. These notes are useful in allowing absent members to maintain their participation in ongoing discussions, as well as for future reference.
Doorkeeper: The doorkeeper is responsible for informing all participants who enter a meeting of all pertinent information, distributing relevant literature (agenda, etc.), and briefly informing latecomers of what topics have been covered.
Read more about this topic: Formal Consensus
Famous quotes containing the word roles:
“It was always the work that was the gyroscope in my life. I don’t know who could have lived with me. As an architect you’re absolutely devoured. A woman’s cast in a lot of roles and a man isn’t. I couldn’t be an architect and be a wife and mother.”
—Eleanore Kendall Pettersen (b. 1916)
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)
“Modern women are squeezed between the devil and the deep blue sea, and there are no lifeboats out there in the form of public policies designed to help these women combine their roles as mothers and as workers.”
—Sylvia Ann Hewitt (20th century)