Chairing Business and Group Conscience Meetings at Group and intergroup level

The following suggestions by an individual member arise out of principle and experience. They will not all be relevant or appropriate all the time. If a suggestion helps, use it. If it does not, do not worry about it.

Recording of the talk: talk

• The role of the chair of a business meeting, a group conscience meeting, or an intergroup meeting is to ensure that the meeting transacts its business effectively, efficiently, and harmoniously on behalf of those it serves: the members or the groups.
• To achieve this, follow these Traditions and Concepts
• Tradition Five: primary purpose:
• Content can include:
• Standing items (officers' reports)
• Ad hoc items notified in advance
• Ad hoc items arising on the day in 'any other business'
• Periodically: a free sharing session, where participants can share anything on their mind that they believe is relevant to the group or the intergroup, without raising it as a formal matter for discussion and vote
• Ensure that there is an agenda, the agenda is sent out in advance, and all background materials supporting decision-making are distributed
• Ensure that the meeting proceeds systematically through the agenda
• Allow any other business to be raised if there is capacity within the allotted time
• Allow the meeting to run over only if there are matters that cannot be deferred
• Table any other business not covered for the next meeting
• Within any particular discussion, gently bring contributors back to the topic if they stray
• Be firm with anyone grandstanding off-topic
• Tradition One: maintenance of unity
• Watch out for and gently halt any contributions that personalise the debate or involve ill-natured or unnecessary criticism or attack of others
• If the atmosphere generally becomes heated on a topic, defer any decision until the next meeting unless a decision cannot be deferred: decisions made when voters are exercised could be driven by negative emotion rather than dispassionate appraisal of the good of all
• Invite contributions by raised hand only
• Ask contributors to speak in strict order of hand-raising
• Gently halt cross-talk (speaking out of turn)
• But allow (managed) interjections correcting errors of fact
• When members of the group or intergroup are commenting on the discharge of an officer's duty, it is better for comment to take the form of suggestions for the future rather than criticism of the past
• Reserve censure for where an officer has acted well outside the scope of delegated authority or behaved very poorly indeed
• Even then, be neutral and avoid punishing language (Concept Twelve)
• Elections should be held anonymously with written ballots ('yes' or 'no') written on slips of paper
• Remain neutral yourself: contribute only points of fact to substantive discussions
• Tradition Two: operation of the informed group conscience
• Ensure that all relevant information for decision-making is circulated in advance for quiet consideration and discussion
• If new, significant material is introduced during a discussion, consider deferring the decision until it can be considered at leisure
• If there is insufficient information, commission a member of the group or intergroup to obtain and circulate the relevant information
• Tradition Nine: avoid excessive formality
• If it can be solved simply, solve it simply
• Concept Twelve: arrival at decisions through discussion, vote, and substantial unanimity
• Relevant group members, officers, etc. present the basic material of a question
• This is followed by discussion
• Method one: go round the room systematically, allowing for instance 30 seconds or 1 minute each
• Method two: invite contributions by raised hand, again with a time limit
• Either way, have someone use a timer and a bell
• Permit an individual to share a second time only once everyone who wants to has shared once
• Discourage repetition or endorsement of other contributions: endorsement is expressed instead in voting
• Encourage the presentation of new considerations only
• A vote requires a motion
• A motion requires someone to second it
• Motions should be clearly worded and recorded
• Ensure everyone understands the motion before it is voted on
• Do not allow complex motions (e.g 'should group meetings be open for attendance and sharing by non-AA members?': if necessary structure a sequence of motions instead, which depend on the outcome of the preceding ones (e.g. 'should group meetings be open for attendance by non-AA members?' followed, if the first motion is passed, by 'should group meetings be open for sharing by non-AA members?')
• Always word motions in favour of change, or a failure to achieve a majority will result in a default of change rather than a default of the status quo ante
• 50% is suggested in the case of technical or minor decisions
• Two-thirds or three-quarters is suggested in the case of substantial decisions
• If a majority is not achieved, the discussion is not over as the group or intergroup has not crystallised its views sufficiently, so defer if possible
• If a matter requires significant further work, form a sub-committee comprising the most engaged members on a topic (often with opposing views) to research the area and revert with one or more options for a way forward
• Alternatively, suggest that members submit their views on a topic that are then collated into an anonymised document for circulation
• Concept Twelve: democratic principle
• Ad hoc decisions made in between meetings by executive officers (chair, vice-chair, secretary, treasurer, GSR if a group) must be presented for notification or review by the group or intergroup
• In instances of controversy, let the group/intergroup decide
• Concept Four: right of participation
• This is largely covered above
• Ensure quiet voices are heard
• Encourage loud voices to allow room for others to be heard
• Concept Five: right of appeal
• Allow a minority opinion to be heard, particularly after a controversial vote
• If, following voicing of a minority opinion, anyone wishes to change their vote, revote
• If there is a grievance, the chair (possibly acting together with the executive committee) decides on the admissibility of the grievance and presents the grievance to the group or intergroup for deliberation
• If the hearing of a grievance is denied (e.g. because the aggrieved party is unhappy with some standard, established policy of the group or intergroup which has been duly implemented), the aggrieved party may write a letter for distribution
• If the group or intergroup believes that the executive committee's decision is wrong, the grievance can be heard after all
• Concept Two: the group or the intergroup is the active voice of those it represents in matters of policy and finance
• The group or intergroup must make its decisions for the good of those it represents
• Its job is to make decisions on matters of policy and finance: detail is left to officers
• Each group or intergroup may establish where policy ends and detail begins
• Concept Three: officers have a right of decision to act, consult, ask, and report back
• Groups and intergroups should allow practical decisions to be made by the implementing officers
• Illegitimate interference/micro-managing should be avoided
• Criticism of an officer's work on the basis that it happens not to match the style or preference of another member, officer, group, or intergroup should be voiced only with caution
• Broadly: the delegating entity (group/intergroup) decides on what the officer's output should be (product or service); the officer decides how to achieve this output
• Concept Six/Eight: officers have chief initiative and active responsibility and are the principal planners and administrators
• Officers should be actively encouraged to take responsibility for the domain in their charge, considering new and innovative ideas and possible improvements to the function in efficacy and efficiency, and anticipating problems
• Concept Eight: where there is a subcommittee to the group or intergroup, the chairing officer has custodial oversight of the work of the subcommittee
• The chairs of sub-committees are accountable to the group or intergroup, not to the members of their sub-committees
• Note that chairs of groups/intergroups are appointed by the groups/intergroups, but chairs of sub-committees are also appointed by the groups/intergroups, not by the sub-committee members (although sub-committee members may nominate one or two of their number for appointment)
• Whilst decisions within sub-committees are best made by consensus, if there is a conflict between the sub-committee members and the chair, the chair may override the views of the sub-committee members if he or she genuinely believes that his or her view more authentically implements the policy and intention of the group or intergroup
• Concept V procedures are available to sub-committee members who object to this
• Concept Seven: officers have the right to exercise delegated authority, reporting back to the group or the integroup that delegated the authority in the first place; they cannot operate without the funds and trust of the intergroup but are not mere instruments, either
• Set annual budgets for officers
• All officers to spend up to that budget without referring each item back to the integroup
• The officers are then accountable for spending decisions they have made
• Concept Nine:
• Leadership qualities:
• Dedication
• Perform each task to the best of your ability
• Flexibility
• Efficiency is as important as efficacy
• Don't get excessively hung up on detail
• Be prepared to change tack if the wind direction changes
• Tolerance
• A full range of human emotions is likely to manifest: let it
• Curb only when behaviour becomes unproductive, disruptive, disrespectful, or alarming
• Responsibility
• Be a custodian of the traditions
• Do your own job but keep a quiet eye on everything going on within the intergroup
• Consider the good of all
• Consider long-term as well as short-term impacts
• Consider neighbouring groups and intergroups
• Consider AA as a whole
• Stability
• Be even-tempered
• Keep your head even if others don't
• Vision
• Use your imagination to generate ideas
• Think through all possible consequences of decisions
• Capitalise on strengths
• Identify weaknesses
• Identify opportunities
• Anticipate threats
• Special skills
• Steer members towards roles that maximally exploit their skills for the benefit of the fellowsip
• Concept Twelve: principles before personalities
• Encourage people to discuss ideas not people
• Don't get personally attached to any particular method or outcome

General notes on leadership qualities

Concept IX

Qualities:

• Dedication
• Flexibility
• Tolerance
• Responsibility
• Stability
• Vision
• Special skills

Leaders:

• Surrender personal ambitions, feuds, and controversies
• Act on behalf of those they serve
• Are happy to be accountable to and hear feedback from those they serve and make adjustments accordingly
• Accept disagreement, exercise tolerance, and do not attempt to force uniformity
• Seek advice, counsel, and support
• Lean first on others who have the answer and then on the Higher Power who stands behind them
• Take action in such a way that others are inspired to back and support them
• Neither meekly take orders nor bulldoze the fellowship
• Originate plans, policies, and ideas
• Consult widely on new and important matters before making decisions and acting
• Make no snap decisions but allow even apparently certain decisions to rest for a period of consultation before implementation
• Make all decisions by asking for God’s guidance
• Are willing to discard own plans for a better one originated by another
• Are willing to stand up against a disturbed or uninformed majority
• Avoid unreasoned, resentment-based opposition
• Are able to compromise to promote unity and seek gradual improvement over revolution
• Are able to compromise with a loving attitude rather than forced resignation
• Avoid black-and-white thinking and solutions
• Listen to criticism without being defensive and modify views or actions accordingly when appropriate
• Listen to the principles behind a person’s words with an open ear and an understanding heart, praying before responding to avoid reacting
• Listen sometimes without commenting at all, deferring a response until the response is certain
• Separate the content from the source and do not fall out with the source
• Sift through destructive criticism for useful information and discard any other material without personalising the content
• Recognise that destructive feedback is sometimes the best a person can offer at his particular stage of development
• Can disagree without being disagreeable
• Deploy foresight in the short and long term, exercising prudence
• Perform mental experiments (run-throughs of scenarios) and then trial a policy or plan before implementing a major change
• Assess the impact of policies or plans within and outside AA, considering financial aspects, internal resourcing, and internal capabilities
• Effect change through the following sequence: idea, experimental policy, firm policy, and tradition

Concept IX

The structure of AA has been established and is stable but new leaders will continually need to be found.

The key to finding leaders lies in GSRs, as these elect officers further down the structure, including ultimately/indirectly the delegates and trustees.

When selecting leaders, the most important questions concern their qualifications and suitability.

Elections should not be taken lightly.

The third-legacy procedure (two-thirds majority or failing that the hat) is effective.

Even the General Service Board is accountable to the fellowship: there is no unqualified authority.

Concept IX in brief

1. Surrender self-will
2. Serve others
3. Seek counsel
4. Practise vision and foresight
5. Take initiative
6. Pray for God’s decision
7. Listen to criticism and ideas
8. Take nothing personally
9. Pause before responding
10. Disagree without being disagreeable
11. Take a stand exceptionally
12. Routinely compromise for unity

A further, more detailed, document entitled "SERVICE CHAIRING INTERGROUP" can be found here.

The folder contains resources produced by an individual member of AA for the purpose of their own recovery. These materials are may be freely shared, used, and passed on but are not endorsed by and do not represent any group, intergroup, region, or AA as a whole.