SEAHO Report - Summer 2021 - 27

FEATURE ARTICLES
From a human resources lens, jot down your views of the following:
1. Who serves on the committees and who chairs the committees?
2. What does committee members' development look like? What does committee chairs' development
look like?
3. How do you build relationships and sustain trust on the committee?
4. How do you navigate working on cross-functional teams?
5. How do we celebrate successes?
A successful chair takes the time to understand each person's motivations, strengths, and weaknesses - they
identify the right team for the project and enable the team to be successful and make decisions (Google Career
Certificates, n.d.). Adding the most value to your committee means taking the time to build relationships,
communicate, and treat others with consideration and respect. Sometimes there will be opportunity on the
committee for members to work out their weak muscles, and sometimes you, as the chair, need to align the right
team members with the right skills to the right tasks. Whether you are a chair or a member, we urge you to set
the tone for the project and build relationships within your team and among your stakeholders. Pay attention
to insights others offer you about their work styles, conduct regular check-ins, see how others are doing (even
beyond work), ask if there are things they need help with, provide continual feedback, be mindful of their
identities and backgrounds, celebrate their efforts - all these small actions lead to the larger impact of feeling
valued and heard.
Committee chairs, lean in and listen to us closely: you will not be an expert in every part for which the
committee is responsible - and that is okay. Your job is not to be the expert on everything. You are responsible
for guiding your team and making sure they have the support they need in order to complete the committee's
charge and objectives (Google Career Certificates, n.d.).
The questions above can be pondered from a variety of roles: a committee member, a committee chair, a staff
member responsible for organizing committee structure, etc. While there is an endless number of reflective
questions you can ask from the lens of the Four Frames, we encourage you to at least start with the above 10
questions. Are there questions you cannot answer? Are there answers you are not satisfied with? Are there
responses you are proud of and would like to see replicated for or by other committees? We urge you to utilize this
reflective question exercise in discovering new heights for your department's vision and direction of committees.
In part two of this series, we will take you on a journey of exploring the other two frames: Political and Symbolic.
To provide you insight into the Political Frame, it is grounded in the navigation of scarce resources and
competing interests. It is about empowerment, advocacy, and savviness, where progression is fostered through
key relationships with key stakeholders. The Symbolic Frame is grounded in the world of making sense and
creating meaning. Values, rituals, stories, and inspiration play key factors in instilling and maximizing faith and
significance.
Is this the end-all-be-all for committee considerations? No. Should you wait until the second article to begin
examining your own committees? Absolutely not. This is a launching point. The ability to use multiple frames is
associated with greater effectiveness for managers and leaders (Bolman & Deal, 2015). Effective leaders use the
Four Frames to understand the environment that is operating within and outside the committee. In turn, a leader
integrates this understanding into the guidance they provide their constituents. Ask yourself out loud: " Within each
of these two frames, what aspects do we do well? Which pieces do we need to work on? " Rumble with the Structural and HR
Frames: explore, blend them together, get messy, be playful, identify improvement, take ownership, and act.
References
Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (2015). THINK-OR SINK. Leader to Leader, 2015, 35-40. https://doi.org/10.1002/
ltl.20176
Google Career Certificates. (n.d.). Foundations of project management. Retrieved from https://www.coursera.org/
learn/project-management-foundations?specialization=google-project-management#instructors
For further reading, we recommend the following textbook: Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing
organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
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https://www.doi.org/10.1002/ https://www.coursera.org/learn/project-management-foundations?specialization=google-project-management#instructors https://www.coursera.org/learn/project-management-foundations?specialization=google-project-management#instructors

SEAHO Report - Summer 2021

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