Chapter 3:

Managing Your Group

By Felice Yeskel, Ed.D.

ed.  Holding successful meetings is not

Introduction

magic!  There are a number of concrete

skills you can learn and practice that will

There are many important skills involved

help your meetings go well.  This section

in managing your group.  Having a group

will lay out some of the basic skills for

that works well together and gets things

running good meetings.

accomplished is essential to improving

the quality of life on campus for lgbt peo 

Basically there are 3 parts to successful

ple.  Some key skills you should have in

meetings:

order to help achieve such a group

include the following:  (I) holding suc 

1) What Happens Before the Meeting

cessful meetings, (II) making and imple 

Planning

menting effective decisions, (III) resolv 

ing conflicts, (IV) being inclusive and

2) What Happens During the Meeting

welcoming of diversity, and (V) holding

Facilitating + Note Taking

group members accountable.

3) What Happens After the Meeting

(I) Meetings

Follow up

In order to get things done, from holding

Planning a Meeting

a dance to creating a Lesbian and Gay

Studies Program, you will need to partic 

Some basics include:

ipate in many meetings.  How well your

meetings go will make a big difference in

Where and when you will meet

both the group's morale and accomplish 

ments.  If your group's meetings are a

M

What space will be most inviting to

drag, fewer and fewer people will attend.

those you want to attend? 

If your group's meetings are fun and pro 

ductive, however, then people will stay

M

Does it feel like a safe space for folks

committed and new folks will be attract 

 in the closet? 

The section on meetings was based on "Running Meetings: Training Materials for Public

Housing Tenant Organizations," by Anne Slepian,   1990.

The section on diversity was based on "Building Bridges: Breaking Barriers" published

by S.C.E.R.A. (the Student Center for Educational Research and Advocacy) at the Uni 

versity of Massachusetts.

M a n a g i n g   Y o u r   G r o u p

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