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Sunday, May 23, 2004
Structure
The most important thing to
keep in mind when working on your committee’s structure,
guidelines, and procedures is to keep it simple. Remember, the
more we talk about policy and procedures, the less time and
energy we have to carry the message. Here are a few suggestions
and reminders; they will be discussed at length in the remainder
of this section.
The Public Information Subcommittee Chair is ultimately
accountable for the results of all PI projects. Our Fifth
Concept states, "For each responsibility assigned to the service
structure, a single point of decision and accountability should
be clearly defined. It is important to remember that the
chairperson is the person who has the responsibility to do
whatever it takes to get the job done. This means that he or she
must manage projects and their follow-ups actively to ensure
that delegated tasks have been completed properly and on time.
Each project, or portion of
a project, should have one person who is responsible for its
completion. Each person on the
committee should know exactly the scope of his or her task, and
its deadline for completion. If two people are assigned the same
task, failure may result from two possible scenarios: first,
they might disagree on exactly how to accomplish the project
properly, or second, the task is not accomplished successfully
simply because each of them thought the other was going to do
it. Keep it simple.
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Two-way communication should always be open. Encourage
each person on the subcommittee to speak his or her conscience.
It is very helpful, however, to remember to listen actively,
without making judgments or becoming upset. Disagreements may
still occur, but through mutually respectful discussion,
differences can usually be resolved.
Make decisions by consensus whenever
possible. We work together as a group. Everyone's input is
helpful and necessary. The more perspectives available on an
issue, the better that issue can be understood. Thorough
discussion helps us to come together as a group and learn from
each other. We become more committed to each other when we know
that each person’s thoughts, ideas and opinions are vitally
important to the committee.
In conclusion, starting a new PI subcommittee is a process, not
an event. The first meeting is just the beginning. It’s
important that everyone on the subcommittee be kept actively
involved during the process.
Next: Reports
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