If your job involves work with a committee, you will appreciate the
following two jokes I heard at a conference I recently attended:
"A committee is best composed of three people, with one who is always sick and another who is always absent."
"A committee is composed of people who individually can do nothing, who come together to conclude that nothing can be done."
As someone who has spent a career working in and with membership
organizations, and with committees, I laughed pretty hard when I heard
these wisecracks. And yet, there is a rather sad truth to the
indictments they make. Committees are often so indecisive and
willing to split the difference that it would almost be better to leave
important choices to a single leader. Committees are often
convened to give the appearance of action when, in fact, there is no
real intention to act. And yet committees are structures we use
frequently to manage work in our organizations, so we can't get away
from them.
It is unfortunate, but in my experience, committees are not catalysts
for innovation. Indeed they are frequently among the biggest
barriers to innovation, and sometimes that is by design. If your
job requires you to work with committees, I encourage you to challenge
the committee's members to avoid ignoring obvious problems and avoid
becoming obstacles to progress. You should issue this challenge
regardless of your role: committee chairman, member or staff
liaison. Committees can be important contributors to the work of
innovation, if only they are willing to violate the conventional wisdom
embodied in the jokes we tell about them.
