Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Getting Buy-In on Decisions

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

Another way to look a the quality of meetings is to look at the 
usefulness of meetings. What are meetings intended to do? What purpose 
do they serve for those who are expected to attend? What is the aim? 
How will you know if it was a useful meeting?

"Quality" is in the eye of the beholder. I used to get so frustrated by 
having the evaluation at the end of the meeting be positive, "this was 
a good meeting," until I understood that what this meant was that no 
one yelled or got frustrated or walked out. That nothing was decided or 
understood or explained was not a concern. Just a nice pleasant 
discussion was a "good meeting". Sort of like a tea party.

I would prefer a meeting where people let it all hang out so "it" is 
clear and everyone knows how people are feeling and what needs to be 
resolved. A meeting in which there is a new understanding of how 
someone feels is useful, but may not meet the tea party criterion of a 
"good" meeting.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Building Community: A Newsletter on Coops, Condos, Cohousing, and Other 
New Neighborhoods
http://www.buildingcommunitynews.org