Seeing the Value of a Leaders Forum
 The Optometrists Association Australia is the pre-eminent professional body for Optometrists across Australia.
Our Leaders Forum is a key meeting held each year, bringing together state representatives to talk about common challenges and opportunities.
Unfortunately, after 4 years of less than satisfactory outcomes, we were not meeting expectations of fruitful and productive dialogue and people were frustrated by the lack of clear outcomes. We had reached a point where the value of the forum was seriously under question....
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Motivated to try something different, we found a solution which has achieved a significant turnaround. As a result of a successful meeting in 2004, delegates are once again motivated to attend, and we have a clearer focus on what to achieve and how to go about it in 2005.
We also learned that the challenges we encountered did not reflect on the delegates ability to participate effectively in meetings, but on some flaws in the process, structure and approach of our meeting.
Approach
 We recruited the help of a consultancy specialising in meeting effectiveness. I first saw FAST Meetings Co.(www in an industry showcase and immediately recognised the benefits of changing the overall paradigm and structure of our meeting.
With their help, we began a process of Meeting by Design which is a far more comprehensive and holistic approach than simply setting an agenda. Instead of just collecting all the topics we thought we needed addressing, we looked at how we would tackle each topic. We subsequently realised the need to substantially reduce the number of topics we included. This saw us go into the meeting with 4 topics, down from the average 15 items, with the topics having been endorsed by all meeting participants prior to arriving.
During the meeting, with the help of skilled FAST Facilitation, we adopted an approach which was far more energising, relevant and focussed than the old ‘U shape’ forum of previous years.
By the end of the meeting, we had reached solid conclusions on each of the topics. For a couple, they are a work in progress and we have much deeper understanding and empathy for the different perspectives across the group. Another initiative has subsequently been progressed through the passionate drive of a few key individuals, their commitment having been enhanced as a result of the process.
The feedback was unanimously positive, and delegates returned home feeling they had achieved something worthwhile, and their time had been well spent.
An indirect benefit we gained has been the closer working relationship and more frequent communications which have since occurred between the State Associations, and this has had widespread benefits in many of the issues we share.
Moving toward the 2005 meeting, we recognise the importance of a more focussed ‘agenda’ and we may aim for even fewer strategic topics this year. As well, we see the benefits of a FAST Meeting approach in which the desired outcomes of our meeting are achieved through well designed and well run conversations and decision making methods.
Andrew McKinnon
Executive Director - OAA NSW
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