Who Is on Your Committee?

In a leadership class I participated in a few years ago, we discussed the power of committees.

This was not a mundane chat on formulating committees to get work done for your organization. Instead, it was a delve into thinking about how we (as individuals) make decisions.

Facilitators asked us: Who is on your committee? Who is it that influences our thinking and often determines how we react to certain events, how we make our next move, whom we choose to interact with, when or if we seek new ideas and input, how we lead our organizations, and what we value?

We were encouraged to think very carefully and dissect our thoughts, actions, and beliefs to uncover our "committee members."

The results surprised us.

We found that when we were honest, there were quite a few folks on our committees whom we didn't consciously invite (but, nonetheless, had consider influence over our thinking and actions).

One woman discovered her estranged father (whom she hadn't seen in years) to be on her committee. Another was appalled to find at her table some former classmates from elementary school who were bullies.

I learned that my family comprised the majority of my committee (no surprise there); I was surprised to see that authors of books I had read (some of whom I had not read in years) had equal (and sometimes greater) voice.

Sitting right there next to my mom, dad, brother, and sister were Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Stephen Covey, and Stephen Levine!

Who is on your committee?

Peel back the layers of your thinking, actions, and values. Who do you see at your table?

Are these folks you love and/or respect? Or are there some folks who need to be fired?