Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and goal achieving.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul Fellovledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode two eighty six. Today let's talk about something
Speaker 2: that every leader should understand, and that's Robert's Rules of Order.
Speaker 2: This system has been used for over a century to
Speaker 2: ensure that meetings are fair, productive and structured. Whether you're
Speaker 2: leading a board meeting, running in nonprofit, or managing a team,
Speaker 2: knowing how to conduct meetings properly is a crucial leadership skill.
Speaker 2: So in this episode, I'm going to break down what
Speaker 2: Roberts rules of order is, why it's important, how you
Speaker 2: can learn it and start applying it today, and finally,
Speaker 2: exactly who was Robert? So what is Robert's rules of Order?
Speaker 2: In simple terms, Robert's Rules of Order is a structured
Speaker 2: system for running meetings efficiently and fairly. Utilizing parliamentary procedure.
Speaker 2: It ensures that discussions stay on track, that everyone gets
Speaker 2: a voice, and that decisions are made in an organized way.
Speaker 2: It's used in government, corporate boardrooms, nonprofits, unions and even
Speaker 2: small community organizations. Meetings, especially when emotions run high or
Speaker 2: decisions are controversial, can easily become disorganized. People talk over
Speaker 2: each other, topics go off track, and no real progress
Speaker 2: gets made. Robert's Rules provides a step by step guide
Speaker 2: on how to introduce, discuss, and vote on issues so
Speaker 2: that the meetings stay focused and productive. It's essentially the
Speaker 2: parliamentary procedure or for any group that needs to make
Speaker 2: decisions together. And while it might seem formal at first,
Speaker 2: its purpose is to bring clarity, fairness, and efficiency to
Speaker 2: decision making. So why is it important? Without structure, meetings
Speaker 2: can quickly spiral into chaos. I'm sure we've all sat
Speaker 2: through meetings where one or two people dominate the conversation,
Speaker 2: discussions drag on with no resolution, or decisions get made
Speaker 2: without proper input. Roberts Rules fixes that by ensuring number
Speaker 2: one orderly discussions. Everyone gets a chance to speak without interruptions.
Speaker 2: Number two fair decision making. Votes are taken properly so
Speaker 2: that decisions reflect the will of the group, not just
Speaker 2: the loudest voices. Number three efficiency Meetings don't drag on unnecessarily,
Speaker 2: and every topic is addressed in a structured way. Number
Speaker 2: four is the protection of minority opinions. The majority ultimately
Speaker 2: rules through voting, minority voices still get heard and considered.
Speaker 2: And last is consistency. Every meeting follows a predictable format,
Speaker 2: making the more productive and professional. When you implement Robert's rules,
Speaker 2: you're not just enforcing structure. You're creating a culture of
Speaker 2: respect and accountability in your organization, and that is what
Speaker 2: great leadership is all about. Most organizations include some kind
Speaker 2: of a blurb about adopting Roberts Rules as their official
Speaker 2: parliamentary procedure in their bylaws or their SOPs. So how
Speaker 2: do you learn Robert's rules of order? And I know
Speaker 2: what you might be thinking. This sounds complicated, and to
Speaker 2: be fair, the full book on Roberts Rules is over
Speaker 2: seven hundred pages long. But don't worry. You don't need
Speaker 2: to know the entire rule book to benefit from it.
Speaker 2: So here's how you get started. Step one, just learn
Speaker 2: the basic motions that the heart of Roberts Rules is
Speaker 2: the concept of motions. These are formal proposals for the
Speaker 2: group to take action on something. Some of the most
Speaker 2: common motions include the main motion, and this is the
Speaker 2: main topic or issue being proposed for discussion, So it
Speaker 2: would sound something like, I'd like to make a motion
Speaker 2: to purchase a new computer chair for one hundred and
Speaker 2: fifty dollars. The next one is an amendment, a proposal
Speaker 2: to change the wording of emotion before voting on it.
Speaker 2: I'd like to make an amendment to the motion. I'd
Speaker 2: like to make a motion to purchase a new computer
Speaker 2: chair not to exceed one hundred and fifty dollars. And
Speaker 2: the third one is a point of order, and this
Speaker 2: is used when someone believes the rules are not being followed,
Speaker 2: and it would sound like, mister or madam chairman, point
Speaker 2: of order, did we take role call properly? And fourth
Speaker 2: is call the question, and this is used to end
Speaker 2: debates and bring the issue to a vote. Think long
Speaker 2: discussions taking place, You can call out call the question
Speaker 2: to end the debate and force the vote. And the
Speaker 2: last one is table the motion, and this is temporarily
Speaker 2: setting aside a discussion to be handled later. And it
Speaker 2: would sound like, due to finances, we're going to table
Speaker 2: the motion to purchase the new computer chair. Understanding just
Speaker 2: these five types of motions will already make a huge
Speaker 2: difference in how you run meetings. Step two is the
Speaker 2: basic meeting structure. Most meetings using Roberts rolls follow this
Speaker 2: standard structure. The call to order. This is when the
Speaker 2: meeting officially begins, the approval of minutes, reviewing and approving
Speaker 2: notes from the last meeting, and then reports and these
Speaker 2: are updates from officers, committees, or special projects. And then
Speaker 2: you move on to old business, and this is topics
Speaker 2: carried over from the previous meeting, followed by new business,
Speaker 2: the introduction of new topics or motions, any announcement, any
Speaker 2: last minute updates or reminders, followed by the adjournment, the
Speaker 2: official closing to the meeting. Following this order keeps things
Speaker 2: moving and prevents distractions from taking over. Step three is
Speaker 2: just use a cheat sheet. One of the best ways
Speaker 2: to learn Robert's rules is to use a quick reference guide.
Speaker 2: You don't need to memorize everything. Just keep a simple
Speaker 2: chart handy during meetings so you can refer to it
Speaker 2: when needed. And you can buy these on Amazon as
Speaker 2: well as an abbreviated version of the main Roberts Rules
Speaker 2: of Order book, or just google it. You'll find plenty
Speaker 2: of little cheat sheets. Step four practice in small settings.
Speaker 2: Start using Robert's rules in smaller, low stakes meetings before
Speaker 2: trying it in a large, high pressure setting. Even just
Speaker 2: implementing small pieces like structured voting and limiting side conversations
Speaker 2: can immediately improve meetings. So who was Henry Martin? Robert
Speaker 2: was a US Army officer in the nineteenth century. In
Speaker 2: eighteen sixty three, he was asked to run a public
Speaker 2: meeting and found it to be a complete disaster. Everyone
Speaker 2: was talking at once, no one knew how to make
Speaker 2: a decision, and there was no order whatsoever. That experience
Speaker 2: inspired him to create a set of standardized rules that
Speaker 2: anyone could follow to run fair and efficient meetings. In
Speaker 2: eighteen seventy six, he published Robert's Rules of Order, and
Speaker 2: over time it became the gold standard for organizational meetings worldwide.
Speaker 2: His goal was simple to create a system that allows
Speaker 2: groups to make decisions efficiently while respecting every participant's voice. So,
Speaker 2: if you're in a leadership position, whether in business, nonprofit, government,
Speaker 2: or community groups, you'll be involved in meetings, and your
Speaker 2: ability to run those meetings will determine how effective you're
Speaker 2: leadership is. Understanding Robert's Rules isn't about being overly formal.
Speaker 2: It's about creating clarity, fairness, accountability in decision making. So
Speaker 2: if you've ever been frustrated by unproductive meetings, now is
Speaker 2: the time to take action. Learn the basics, apply them
Speaker 2: where they make sense, and watch your meetings become smoother,
Speaker 2: more respectful, and more effective. This has been the seven
Speaker 2: Minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more, Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot
Speaker 1: com