Balancing the need for support vs. getting work done at a Council meeting
by Family Councils Ontario
Family Council meetings serve many purposes: to discuss shared concerns or issues; to share information and updates between the Long-Term Care Home and Council; to learn from guest speakers; to work on projects; and, to support Council members. A common question is: how do we balance all of those needs at a Council meeting? Specifically, how do we ensure that we get our work done and accomplish our tasks while also having time for members to share their personal concerns & challenges so that we can support them? As a group that does peer support, how do we do it well? It can be a challenge to balance supporting members vs. getting your work done, but there are specific strategies that can help.
One common strategy is to include a set amount of time at each meeting for open sharing. Set aside at the beginning or end of your meeting, for example 30 minutes, for open sharing. Include this section in your agenda for each and every meeting to ensure that members know when to expect time for sharing. Then, at the meeting ask how many people need time to share. If, for example, 3 people express a need to share, they each get 10 minutes to talk (30 minutes / 3 people = 10 minutes each). If 10 people need to share, they get 3 minutes each. Keeping to the established time allotted means that members understand the structure of the sharing session.
Establish that concerns raised or challenges discussed in the sharing session will be kept confidential and will not be included in meeting minutes as new business or included as concerns raised. This ensures that members have freedom to speak knowing that their concerns and challenges raised will be kept confidential and establishes that the open sharing time is not the time for concerns to be brought forward formally for discussion or review by the Council.
Also, don’t underestimate the power of connecting one-on-one or in smaller groups! Leaving time before or after meetings provides time for Council members to connect with one another and share challenges and successes. Leaving time at the end of meetings means members can chat over refreshments and build interpersonal connections, building a strong team and effective Council.