‘There is more to life than examining the minutes of a previous meeting and drafting more resolutions.’ Photo: by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
Committees aren’t unique to Quakers: Nicholas J Tyldesley offers some wider consideration
‘Agendas need to be pragmatic and achievable.’
Organisations are kept functioning effectively by committees. This is true across the public, private and voluntary sectors. They ensure accountability, give opportunities for participation, draw on the skills of members, and support decision-making. People join committees for a variety of reasons. They might want to serve a community, inspired by the Spirit. They might want to indulge in power politics (Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man describes a wicked parody of the politicking in an academic meeting of sociologists!). They might even just want the status and self-importance. People might also become members of a committee out of a sense of guilt that, if they don’t join, the organisation might collapse. Then, once you’re on a committee, it can be difficult to disengage, because there might be little in the way of succession planning.
