Recorders, Time Keepers, and “Vibes-Watchers”

The chairman needs support to be effective, and this support can be formalized by the group by agreeing on other roles within the group.

Most groups have a recorder that takes notes at the meetings, with the main purpose being an accurate recording of the decisions made and the agreed means of implementation. Different groups have different ideas about the level of detail of the notes taken, but in general they should be sufficient to enable the group to understand essential background elements for the decisions taken and they should not be lengthy. Notebook computers, projectors, and other means can make note taking part of the process of the consultation without losing time. Seeing the words of the decision at the time the consensus is reached can be helpful to prevent misunderstandings later and comments on the wording can increase the clarity.

Some groups include a time keeper to keep things going on schedule so that each agenda item can be covered in the time allotted for it. Unskilled or undisciplined groups often spend large amounts of time on one agenda item leaving little time for the remaining items or causing meetings to run beyond their planned time.

The chairman can find himself or herself in a no-win situation. On one hand, if he strictly conforms to the time schedule by interrupting lengthy expositions, repeated statements, off-subject matters, and the like, members of the group will resent his interference in their right to express themselves as they desire. Other the other hand if the chairman does not interrupt lengthy expositions, repeated statements, off-subject matters and the like, members of the group will blame him for unjustly allowing the process to become inefficient or ineffective, or allowing one or more persons to dominate the meeting.

One answer to this dilemma is for all to be aware of the passage of time and the need to deal with all the agenda items. This can be the role of a time-keeper, and by having someone other than the chairman engaged in this activity, it helps the chairman to balance process and efficiency without becoming part of the problem.

An interesting role that is not common, but illustrates common problems in consultative groups, is that of a “vibes-watcher” or a person who helps the chairman by watching and commenting on individual and group feelings and patterns of participation. The "vibes watcher" pays attention mostly to the nonverbal communication such as:

•    Body language: are people yawning, dozing, sagging, fidgeting, leaving?
•    Facial expressions: are people alert or "not there,” looking upset, staring off into space?
•    Side conversations: are they distracting to the facilitator or to the group?
•    Are people interrupting each other?