Team meeting - rotating chair

[KimGa]

I am part-time (only 16 hours a week). I do admin to fit around school hours. I am the lowest paid, most part-time member of a team of about 35, local government.

We have a regular team meeting which happens to fall at a time I work. I’m of course happy to attend. However, they rotate who chairs the meeting and who minute takes every time, so everyone apparently has to have a turn regardless of seniority.

AIBU to think this is unfair? I don’t object to the minute taking because admin is what I’m paid to do but as I absolutely hate presenting/public speaking of any kind having to chair when it’s my turn causes me so much stress and anxiety.

Surely this is a senior leadership team task and their pay reflects that kind of responsibility.

What do your local councillors pay themselves as 'chairs' of meetings?

Surely this is a senior leadership team task and their pay reflects that kind of responsibility

Absolutely not. It’s chairing a team meeting, not negotiating peace talks. There is virtually zero responsibility. Where I now work leadership don’t even take a turn chairing, we chair so many other high stakes/profile meetings, it’s considered polite to bow out of chairing for team or department meetings where it doesn’t matter, and an opportunity for others who wouldn’t normally to do it. So ours rotate but exclude ourselves and I would think that is fair.

Ask them for few sentences about what the agenda item is about. That's what I always did.
In 8 months there would be some learning no matter how small.
Ice breakers can be awkward I will give you that!
You are now in low stresa, low paid role, your kids will grow up and be more pricey. Life will too. I would auck it up once a calendar year

I think if I hated it as much as you do I'd be dropping the icebreaker and the sharing struggle and just moving onto the agenda.

'Right folks as you all know I work part time in admin and I won't lie sometimes the database is playing up and it's a nightmare but recently it's all been good so I'm just going to jump right into the agenda for today and if anyone would like to volunteer to share their own recent struggle/triumph then please let me know and we'll have time for that at the end. Ok, item 1 etc etc etc'

No, it’s actually very fair that everyone takes a turn.

People seem to be confusing the act of "chairing" a meeting and thr formal role of "Chair".

I chair a lot of meetings at work where I am usually not the most senior person present, usually I chair where I have called the meeting or because I am managing the project. In my non work life I am the elected Chair of a Board of Directors. That second role is more formal and I am absolutely expected to make decisions and lead . (Don't get paid though)

Mountain of of a molehill I’m afraid. As others have said it’s very fair and your part time position should not exempt you. For the icebreakers google random icebreaker questions “Quick what frivolous thing would you buy if you won the lottery tomorrow” and use them for your icebreaker portion. if it’s over teams or zoom… use a poll or something to highlight commonality within the department (I have a cat… I have a dog… I’ve slipped on a banana peel”

Surely you are learning something at some point in your role, even if it’s something you learn from someone else. If nothing else google some random fact that you can explain. If else fails pick a safety topic. “I was reading an article that explained that 30% of workplace accidents are caused by banana peels being thrown on the floor… ways to reduce this are to blah blah blah”

In other words… this is not an outrageous requirement and you need to suck it up.

anyone else dissapointed that this is not about people in (online) meetings turning round and round on their chair?

Yes, I thought it would be about spinning around on an office chair!

I also expected to read a story about someone spinning on their chair during a meeting, that was anticlimactic!

Imposing it isn't exactly "fair" .. its unthoughtful. For some people it's a great opportunity, for others its the stuff of nightmares. I'd ask if it could be made an opportunity rather rhan an obligation as its something you are neither interested in developing, nor want support to develop. And you will be speaking for many in,the team ... an interesting and common way of doing rhjngs, but obliging people isn't good people skills

Well people asked me to report back once I’d done it so here I am. Did not complain about it being my turn as the general consensus was it was a reasonable request.

I chaired just as nervously and badly as I thought I would despite preparing as much as I could.

However, in the time since I first posted have been offered a move to a different team who will not require me to do this so have voted with my feet and handed in my notice as some of you suggested I should if I didn’t like it!

Not the only reason to go but delighted I won’t have to do this onerous task anymore and I am sorry that I posted about it on here because it encouraged others managers reading to adopt this policy and it really is the most stressful thing if it’s not your skill set. Please don’t force it upon your teams!

glad you got through it
and a new job! excellent