Hadduck's Rules of Order for Committee Several years ago, reflecting upon my experience in academia as a member of various committees, sharing table with administrators, faculty, staff, and students, I began to take notes. I noted the commonalities, or at least typicalities, among committees, no matter their purpose or membership. Wanting to be as kind as possible, I will suggest that the brilliantly democratic idea of committee probably originated very far back in human history, under a tree, with a man, a woman, and a loquacious reptile. Had Shakespeare penned in modern parlance a note on the dynamics of committee, Mark Anthony might have said, "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of passive-aggression." Before we consider the rules, we should first observe a general principle: The art of committee lies in the interplay of three things: 1. talking incessantly about change; 2. avoiding decisions that create change; and 3. blaming someone else for failure. Nota Bene: Chronically tired people behave like drunk people--they make poor decisions. Thus, a room full of tired committee members is like a room full of drunk people, but less fun. Research bears this out. Of course, I depend heavily here upon research, as this pertains primarily to academic committees. Nonetheless, I have wished that church and club committees (and boards of all sorts) would likewise embrace such rules as these. Rules for Committee
Tristi Nota: I served on committee once with a fellow who made this confession: “I get on as many committees as possible because I do not want anything to happen without my influence.” Devil, dunce, or zealot? I don’t know, but pitiable.
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