Why did you set up Chairtalk?
There’s a mountain of resource material on the web and a confetti
of paperwork informing you on just about every aspect of Chairing an
organisation: ‘Accountability’; ‘Funding Overviews’; ‘Recruiting
Trustees’;
‘Policy formulation’; ‘Supervising your CEO’; ‘Strategic
Thinking’.
But people have little time to read and digest it all before the need arises to make decisions and take action. Information can be made sense of and time can be saved if a regular time is spent talking about the relevant issues. We want to support people to stay healthy in their role.
You both work with CEOs. Could there be a
conflict of interests?
This is an issue that we have spent a great deal of time discussing.
We are both absolutely clear that if either of us is working with you,
then we wouldn’t personally work with the CEO of your organisation.
Similarly, if either of us is working with the CEO of your organisation,
then we would have to turn down your application to join Chairtalk.
Why do you ask for payment for three
meetings?
We think the group will work best if there is some stability and people
can get to know each other. So we would like people to make a reasonable
commitment rather than dropping in and out. You will get to know other
members’ issues and they will get to know and understand yours.
What support does Chairtalk offer other
than three meetings a year?
When you join Chairtalk you gain a network of peers with whom you can
have contact. In fact we encourage you strongly to do this. You also
have access to Martin and Amanda in their professional capacity – please
speak to them individually about setting up a telephone or face to face
session and fees.
What is expected of me?
Willingness: To share thoughts and ideas. To offer and
receive support.
Commitment: The group will work best and you will get
most from it if you attend every session, and so we hope you will prioritise
attendance over other commitments.
Confidentiality: Everything discussed at Chairtalk is
held in the strictest confidence within the group. We ask that you do
not disclose outside of the group the names of any group members unless
you acquire the express permission of that person.
What happens at the end of the three
sessions?
If you have found the support helpful, you would be very welcome to continue
in the group for another three sessions.
Can I join at any time?
Yes you can join Chairtalk at any time. This means that there may be
new members of the group starting and others leaving. But the way the
group works will stay the same.
Who joins?
Everyone will get something from Chairtalk, but you are most likely to
benefit if you are a Chair of a medium-sized or smaller organisation.
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