How To: Lead a Committee Meeting
Congratulations on being elected President of your university's Enactus committee! To assist your leadership, here is a guide from previous students on leading a committee meeting. Doing this for the first time can feel overwhelming and might be your first experience in a professional role. These steps are practical resources to help build your skills and boost your confidence on your Enactus journey.
Plan
STEP ONE: Your first meeting is crucial to starting the year right! Use this to plan Freshers' Week and your first month of activities. Next, think about how often you need a committee meeting. Meetings are where decisions are made, so be aware of how much you need to organize in advance with everyone and how much time you need. Every one to two weeks usually allows you to meet Student Union deadlines!
STEP TWO: In-person or online? In-person meetings build a connection with your team and generate quick decisions as people are more likely to share thoughts and volunteer. Be sure to book a room at your university or settle on an accessible shared location. Online meetings are better if you’re spread out, or even in the winter evenings when students don’t want to leave the house!
STEP THREE: Pick a date – doodle forms can help pick a time that suits the most people https://doodle.com/en/. You could do this each time or find that after the first time you've got a good regular slot!
Agendas
STEP FOUR: To create an agenda, write a list of everything each committee member is working on so they have a space to update everyone. Send it to the committee and ask if they have anything else to add.
Example Agenda – Date
1. National Expo Trip 4th April 2023
General Secretary – Method of transport? Trip forms, travel expense claims
Publicity Sec - Instagram Posts planned? Stories? On the day?
2. Pub Quiz – Social Sec/Everyone– Ideas for socials?
During The Meeting
STEP FIVE: At the start of the meeting give some positive feedback about the last event/social. Celebrate your wins!
STEP SIX: Assign a person to take minutes, usually your VPE. They can use the agenda as a template for recording details of discussions and decisions. It's difficult to lead a meeting and take detailed notes at the same time so always delegate!
STEP SEVEN: Try and get ideas from everyone and be balanced about the choices you take. Base your decisions on consensus so that you all feel invested in what you’re doing!
STEP EIGHT: Set clear deadlines, for example by giving a date for a form to be filled in, or an Instagram post to go up.
STEP NINE: At the end of your meeting, ask if anyone has any other things to add, and then choose a time for your next meeting.
STEP TEN: The minute taker should share the minutes with the committee meeting within 24 hours to keep the team up to date!
To explore more of our 'How To' guides, click on the links below!