The President of a community group needs to fulfil some important roles in order for the group to operate at its best.
Providing strong leadership – The President needs to be able to motivate and inspire other committee members (and often general members too) to be active in the pursuit of the group’s purpose. A group’s President should provide a role model to others of appropriate behaviour for group members. The President is also going to be instrumental in the group setting its objectives and priorities, and in ensuring this is done in a way that all the appropriate people get to have their say.
Representing the group – A group’s President is often the ‘public face’ of the organisation. This may involve speaking on behalf of the group at various forums, representing the group on other committees, and meeting and greeting attendees at group events.
Arranging meetings – Generally, the President will take the lead in scheduling the necessary meetings for the group. The President usually works with the Secretary in preparing meeting agendas. Ultimately the President needs to make sure all the necessary arrangements have been taken care of so that meetings run smoothly.
Chairing meetings – Usually, the President will chair group meetings. This requires an ability to keep people to the agenda, ensure all parties have an opportunity to have their say and managing any issues that may arise before they start to impact on the flow of the meeting. Some groups may also choose to rotate the chair between committee members, so everyone has the opportunity to take on this role.
An effective President needs to have good communication skills and good people management skills, in order to get the best out of other committees (and group) members and to make everyone feel their contribution to the group is valued.
You can download this Blog Post as a tip sheet by clicking here: Tip Sheet_ Purposeful Presidents 23 April 2014
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