Knowing Your Own Role in Meeting

Of all the training in an International Youth Organization that I am involved in, Parliamentary Procedure or Meeting Procedure is the one that I am well trained in, and proud to be trained in this area.

Yesterday after the Chess Competition of the Chinese Clan Association, that I was the Organizing Chairman, we had a post mortem meeting over the dinner. In attendance, there are assistant executive secretaries, executive secretaries, and the organizing committee team.

When I started to chair the meeting and say let us see what is going wrong with this event for the past 2 days. Then one of my assistant executive secretaries start to take over my chair. Ended up, he chaired my meeting for me for the whole night, and at the end of the meeting, he asked me: "Mr. Leong, do you still have anything to add on?"

Now, what is wrong with this? This has been going on from day one I joined the association until today. Respect given to the assistant that took over my chair was because he has been working in association for the past 24 years, and he knows a lot of things and history of events. Over the past few years, we respect him and ask for his opinion on certain things and before we make any decision for organization. However, incident like last night is not tolerable.

As an assistant executive secretary, he supposed to keep his mouth shut and let all the other organizing committee do the talking as if it comes to vote, assistant executive secretary has no voting right. This is about knowing your right in the meeting.

The meeting will be very efficient and effective if everyone in the meeting know they own roles, and get their preparation done before the meeting.