In brief
A quarterly leadership council brings representatives from the HBS Alumni Forums in one region together on Zoom, for an hour, four times a year. Representatives raise what their forum is working on and hear how other forums have handled the same thing. Each moderator decides who from their forum attends.
What the council is
A quarterly leadership council is a standing meeting for the forums in one region. Each active forum sends one or two representatives, and the council meets on Zoom for an hour.
It exists so the people running forums can compare notes. Most of the problems a forum runs into are problems other forums in the region have already had, and the council is where that experience gets shared.
The quarterly cycle
Four meetings a year, one each quarter. Each runs an hour.
After each council, a short written summary goes to every forum in the region, including the forums that did not send anyone that quarter.
Each quarter, representatives also confirm their forum’s roster, its moderator, and whether the forum is looking to add members. Keeping that current helps prospective members find the forums that are adding people.
What happens at a meeting
Representatives raise what their forum is working on and hear how other forums have handled the same thing. Topics that come up:
- Members who are late or absent, and what actually changes it
- Planning an annual retreat
- Balancing structure with room for members to be candid and expressive
- Personality conflicts inside a forum
- What to do when a forum starts to wonder whether it has run its course
The roster confirmation happens in the same hour.
Who attends
Each moderator decides who from their forum attends. It can be the moderator, or a member the moderator asks to go. A forum that rotates the seat gives more of its members a view of how other forums operate.
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To find a council near you, contact your local HBS club.
In California? Register for the next council here: https://forumsupport.org/council/register/