How Do You Measure Committee Effectiveness?

Committees. Committees come in all shapes and sizes. Committees vary in their effectiveness. 

If I had a friend who was going to put together a tool to assess a committee's effectiveness, what would she want to include in it? Ok, in the spirit of full disclosure,  I do have a friend and she has been tasked to develop a tool, really. Here is what I have gathered so far and could use your ideas for other ways to measure the effectiveness of a committee:

AN EFFECTIVE COMMITTEE WILL understand its purpose and effectively work toward its goals • have open communication among members • listen to all points of view and make decisions that work for all • not be dominated by one leader or member • strike a balance between group productivity and personal needs • establish a process to evaluate and make changes • provide an opportunity for members to work collaboratively • have access to information they need to make recommendations.

Any and all ideas are appreciated AND an actual tool will be recognized with a super honorable mention and many, many thanks!

10 Ways To Make Your Boss Love You

Want to become your boss's favorite? Alison Green (aka Ask a Manager) U.S. News & World Report column this week suggests 10 habits that, if cultivated, will have your boss showering you with lavish praise.

I value staff who embrace #9: Speak up when you're unhappy and especially value those who use Panera Bagels with honey walnut cream cheese to express their thoughts regarding #10, If she's a good boss, tell her. Speaking of which, haven't had any bagels lately, hmmmm.

Seriously, this is one to keep at arm's length to facilitate discussions with your staff members, assist new supervisors with setting reasonable expectations for their staff and to do a soft check on yourself as you manage upward.