If your organization’s bylaws say your meetings will follow Robert’s Rules of Order, then yes, you do have to follow them—but do you follow them? Robert’s Rules are complex! It is very difficult to follow them to the letter unless you have a dedicated parliamentarian available. I’ve been on quite a few boards and none of them truly followed Robert’s Rules.
Robert’s Rules provide a method for making group decisions, but there are alternatives that may better serve your board of directors. Here are some examples.
Consensus Decision-Making: This approach involves discussion until all participants can agree on a single course of action. It emphasizes cooperation and collaboration, seeking to address concerns and find solutions that everyone can support.
Consent Decision-Making: This approach involves seeking consent from all members for a proposed course of action. Instead of requiring full agreement, consent decision-making aims to ensure that no member has strong objections to the proposed action.
Democratic Voting: Similar to Robert’s Rules, democratic voting involves members casting votes for different options, and the option with the majority of votes wins. However, the rules and procedures may be simplified compared to Robert’s Rules.
Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages. I encourage you to check out thedecider.app. It’s a cool tool to help you choose a decision-making model that suits the decision your group needs to make.
And don’t forget! If you decide to adopt a different method, don’t forget to revise your bylaws accordingly.
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