If you’ve sat on a committee, you’ve probably noticed that sometimes they have a hard time figuring out where they fit into the world. It is a misconception that they struggle because they lack a clear purpose. In our experience, they often have a decent purpose or mission but get confused about what type of authority they have to make decisions. Authority is the defining framework for all collaborative groups and a major source of confusion.
| GOVERN | ADVISE | COORDINATE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership | Comprised of leadership | Comprised of technical experts or stakeholders | Comprised of those doing work as requested by another group/individual Decisions |
| Decisions | Makes decisions on behalf of larger body of people who assemble | Makes recommendations back to the groups/ individuals | Only address specific issues requested by other groups or individuals that they report to |
| Scope | Provides direction that others implement | Only address specific issues requested by other groups or individuals that they report to | Share information perspectives and insights; to make decisions that help each person do his or her job better |
| Resources | Commits resources | Does not commit resources but may advise on how to use them | They are the human resources |
| Names | Board of Directors or Leadership Team | Advisory Committee or Commission | Teams or Project Team or Workgroup |
The type of authority a group has defines what type of group it is. All committees fall primarily into one of the following three categories. Additionally, they can also take on a secondary level for specific tasks.
Unless a group has a clear understanding of their level of authority and how each of the issues is operationalized, they may continue to struggle.
