[WiLT] Forum for Chairs to be established

[WiL Admin]

Forum for Chairs to be established



Third Sector columnist Amanda Falkson, a psychotherapist, and Martin
Farrell, a consultant, are launching a discussion forum for chairs.



Chairtalk will offer groups of 10 or so the chance to meet informally
five times a year to share concerns and solve common problems.



"Lots of resources are available for third sector chairs, but there is
nowhere to go to make sense of it all," said Falkson, who writes a
monthly column for Third Sector's At Work Management page. "The aim of
Chairtalk is to offer them the opportunity to do so."



The first of the meetings, which will be run with the help of law firm
Bircham Dyson Bell, will be on 21 February in London. A website,
www.chairtalk.org.uk, will be launched this week.



http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/DailyBulletin/776818/Forum-chairs-established/8913D4C0EE1A4A429C0C66CB172F5507/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin





ChairTalk



Being a Third Sector Chair is inspiring, energising and rewarding.
It's a chance for you to play your part in making the world a better
place.



And it can be a lonely place too, with challenges, demands,
responsibilities and sometimes doubts or worries.



There's lots of help out there for you - toolkits, reports,
guidelines, lectures, conferences. Maybe there's too much and it can
be a bit overwhelming.



How can you make sense of it all?



Chairtalk is a place for a small group Chairs to meet regularly - to
reflect, pool ideas, make sense of what's going on and learn from each
other.



Facilitated by Amanda Falkson (http://www.chairtalk.org.uk/about.php)
and Martin Farrell (http://www.chairtalk.org.uk/about.php#martin),
Chairtalk meets in the evening, five times a year in central London.



We take good governance seriously. At Chairtalk we create an
atmosphere that is practical and focused as well as supportive and
friendly. http://www.chairtalk.org.uk/index.php



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 five 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 over a year or so 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 five meetings a year?



When you join Chairtalk you gain a network of peers with whom you can
have contact throughout the year. 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 five sessions?



If you have found the support helpful, you would be very welcome to
continue in the group for another five sessions. How about 'another
year' in case we do six sessions in 2009? You on videophone, of
course...



Can I join at any time?



Yes you can join Chairtalk at any time throughout the year. 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.



Go to contact page http://www.chairtalk.org.uk/contact.php