Transforming Meetings™

"The quality of everything people do depends on the quality of the thinking they do first.”

Nancy Kline

Our Transforming Meetings™ Programmes

Transforming Meetings™ Programme for Primary School Leaders (March or September 2023)

This programme is provided by Rachel Doogue Coaching as a public programme for Primary Principals and Deputies. Click here for more information on our upcoming programmes.

Transforming Meetings™ Programme for Post Primary Principals and Deputies

This programme is provided by Rachel Doogue Coaching in conjunction with school trusts, governance bodies or representative bodies. Click here for details below.

Transforming Meetings™ Programme for Chairpersons of Boards of Management

This programme is provided by Rachel Doogue Coaching in conjunction with school trusts, governance bodies or representative bodies. Click here for details below.

Transforming Meetings™ Programme Details

Are your meetings a problem?

If you run or chair school management, staff or team meetings and are concerned about any of the following, the School Transforming Meetings™ Programme may be for you:

It’s hard for staff to feel connected to each other, help everyone feel heard and build energy in a virtual environment
You are under pressure to get through long agendas providing information rather than collaborating to explore new ideas
There are so few opportunities for staff to do their best thinking due to time pressures and meeting structures
There can be limited momentum between meetings for individuals to take on responsibility and complete actions
The silent majority are rarely heard and it’s a missed opportunity to hear their thinking and gain ideas and support for change.

Transforming Meetings™ is a programme for School Principals, Deputies and those leading meetings to get the very best thinking, action and results at meetings in schools whether they are online or face to face. The programme was developed by Time To Think Ltd., an organisation pioneered and led by Nancy Kline, author of Time to Think, More Time To Think and The Promise the Changes Everything: I Won’t Interrupt You.

What will you experience, learn and achieve?

The Transforming Meetings™ programme is six hours duration and can be run over three mornings or afternoons, two half days or one full day. The maximum number of participants is 10 for online programmes and 20 for in-person programmes. This programme is highly facilitated by experienced coaches and certified Time to Think facilitators

On the programme, participants experience the Transforming Meetings™ methodology to:

Create an engaging and interactive virtual and face-to-face meeting environment
Develop meetings behaviour that is collaborative and helps all voices to be heard
Prepare transformative meeting agendas to operate in a structured yet highly participative and collaborative way
Improve engagement before, during and after meetings using a range of Transforming Meetings™ techniques – Thinking Pairs, Rounds, Thinking Council, Dialogue and Open Discussion
Be more productive and inspired in meetings
Improve the quality of thinking and listening of those attending
Encourage equality, difference and respect
Create a psychologically safe environment for quality decisions to be made
Engage in respectful, robust discussions and move more easily into and through conflict.

In particular, I would like to highlight the excellent quality of facilitation by Rachel and Mary. They presented the material very clearly and gave us excellent opportunities to put the techniques into practice without the tasks we completed in the breakout rooms ever seeming contrived or forced.

I think, for the first time, I have actually reflected on the nature of meetings. Too often, we plan meetings because we have to or, we plan meeting in a lazy, sometimes rushed way. This course, through Day 2 in particular, will make me think more about the purpose of meetings and it will make us try to set them up to be more engaging and useful.

Commend all aspects of Programme in highest possible terms - best CPD I have done in a very long time.

I enjoyed the Thinking Council; it is a nice idea and produces useful results. Thinking Pairs as a technique is something that I will definitely be using going forward.

I came away with clarity. I came away with a number of strategies that would help me to transform my staff meetings. And I now know what to do differently, or least try it.

It was extremely valuable to discuss with other school leaders and listen to their experiences/thoughts etc.

‘Chairing Meetings for Better Outcomes’ Workshop for AP1s, AP2s and Subject Department Heads

This workshop is designed for school staff (excluding principals and deputies) who are responsibe for chairing and running specific meetings with their peers. The workshop is two hours and the question on the agenda for this workshop is “How can I chair my meetings to get a better outcome?“

During the workshop participants will have an opportunity to experience a live meeting chaired in a new way and gain insights in order to:

Contract as a chair for their role and the process of the meeting
Improve engagement before, during and after meetings using a range of techniques
Develop meetings behaviour that helps all voices to be heard
Prepare transformative meeting agendas to operate in a very structured yet highly collaborative way
Encourage equality and difference honouring the school ethos and values
Engage in respectful, robust discussions and move more easily into and through conflict
Conclude meetings effectively and build a culture of accountability and responsibility

The options to avail of this program include:

A full day in-school run by one facilitator running 3 consecutive 2-hour workshops over the day, with up to 10 participants in each, accommodating a total of up to 30 participants in one day
A single 2-hour online workshop for up to 10 participants

Recent feedback from Subject Department Heads

I found the time management piece really helpful; how to use time in meetings.

What really helped me was learning some of the simple tips regarding the agenda question + timekeeping, and how they can improve efficiency of meetings.

I really found seeing the different strategies in use to be helpful. It gave me a better idea of how they worked and what to do if facilitating their use.

What was most helpful for me was learning about establishing roles within the meeting and sharing the agenda prior to meeting.

Strategies on how to make meetings more efficient were most helpful to me.