I think that the main purpose of this meeting was for different members of the Chaplaincy and Education department at Lancaster General Hospital to network and inform each other about what they were working on. There were not many meaningful decisions made at the meeting. For the most part the decisions had been made, and this was an opportunity for people to clarify who was responsible for what, and report what had been accomplished and what still needed to be accomplished.
The only conflicts which came up were small and handled easily by negotiations between the parties involved. There was some conflict over the scheduling of a clergy workshops which were going to take place in the spring. A solution to the conflict was found by the two Chaplains who were leading the workshops. There was a discussion about how to handle communications, specifically who would carry the secondary phone that allowed hospital staff and patients to request a chaplain. Members of the group suggested several different ways, and problems associated with each solution.
I think that the chairperson did well. I think that she helped the group to not get bogged down in minute details, and she made sure to solicit everyone's opinion as part of the debate.
One suggestion I would make is to have am easier way for people to suggest issues which needed to be discussed at the meeting before hand. Maybe by utilizing an email chain or a blog, people might be able to familiarize themselves with what is being discussed at the meeting before it begins. That might reduce the time spent on explaining issues to everyone.
I think that if I was the leader of this organization, I would find ways to extend the free form culture of the pre-meeting to the formal meeting. I think that people were more engaged when we were working on the "Ideas Board" because they were dealing with issues which directly effected their work lives. Later in the official meeting I think the issues being discussed became less connected to the day to day work that was being done. While I think people remained engaged they were less willing to offer suggestions.
(Edited by Michael Wilson - original submission Wednesday, January 25, 2017, 6:11 PM)