Practical guide 01 · Available
The craft of chairing
How do you know when to assert authority? How do you facilitate decision-making, while still moving to action if the group doesn't agree?
We have heard many Chairs of Neighbourhood Boards say their role turned out to be more operational than they anticipated. Especially before other staff are in post, Chairs have found themselves acting as programme leads - recruiting members, managing communications, coordinating partners, chasing deadlines - rather than acting as Chairs. Those further along have offered reassurance that this pressure eases once a programme manager is appointed. Nonetheless, it underlines that these are challenging roles requiring a diverse mix of skills.
Beyond the challenging workload there are questions related to the craft of chairing itself. Bringing a diverse room of people to a shared understanding. Moving a conversation to a decision when there is no consensus. Knowing when to facilitate and when to decide. And holding a non-executive line: not running the programme, but helping to make sure the condition for successful delivery are in place, and to help remove blockers.
Chairs also have to manage difficult tension with wider structures of democratic accountability - maintaining relationships with MP and ouncillors who have an electoral mandate and a legitimate claim to speak for residents. This sits alongside other more participatory and deliberative sources of legitimacy, such as the direct engagement work a Neighbourhood Board will do with local residents. These are difficult tensions to manage.
The following materials speak to these issues.
The numbers after each item show which of the five dimensions of ambition it speaks to most directly: (1) Shift the story · (2) Cultivate agency · (3) Strengthen relationships · (4) Crowd in capital · (5) Shape the system.
Resources we have checked
7 items-
A Chair's Compass (opens in a new tab)
FreeRegistration required
A guide to chairing written from the chair's seat rather than the board's, covering when to assert authority, the boundary with an executive, board dynamics and self-assessment. Written for charity chairs.
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Consensus decision making, and the short guide (opens in a new tab)
Free
A guide to consensus decision-making, including what to do when consensus does not arrive: fallbacks, blocking, stand-asides, power dynamics and consensus in large groups. A short version is available to share with Board members.
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Facilitating meetings (opens in a new tab)
Free
A guide to facilitation, covering agenda design, the arc of a meeting, active listening, synthesis, techniques for large groups and a troubleshooting section.
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Consent decision making, in Sociocracy in co-operative organisations (opens in a new tab)
Free
An explanation of consent decision-making, in which a proposal passes if it is good enough for now and safe enough to try, rather than requiring unanimous agreement. The guide also covers circles and double-linking, an alternative to conventional sub-committees.
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How to complete a skills audit (opens in a new tab)
Free
A method for auditing the skills held by a board, with three templates. It covers diversity of experience as well as technical skill, and can guide recruitment.
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The Charity Governance Code, 2025 edition (opens in a new tab)
Free
A voluntary governance standard that a Board can choose to adopt. Ranges from delegation (Principle 3) to board effectiveness (Principle 8), including skills, review periods, and terms of office.
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Delegating decisions (opens in a new tab)
Free
Guidance on delegation, covering what cannot be delegated, how sub-committees and task groups work, how to document delegation, and how a board keeps oversight of work it has handed over.
Other creative ways to explore this theme
14 items-
Film
Consensus decision making, in three short films (opens in a new tab)
Free
Three short films explaining what consensus decision-making is, how to run it, and the behaviours that stop it working.
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Film
Consent decision-making, filmed (opens in a new tab)
Free
A film of a real group of people developing a proposal through multiple rounds of consent-building.
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Talk
Three steps to turn everyday get-togethers into transformative gatherings (opens in a new tab)
Free
A talk by Priya Parker exploring ways to bring people together to build shared purpose, and on the role the host can play in shaping how a group behaves.
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Talk
How to disagree productively and find common ground (opens in a new tab)
Free
A talk by a world debate champion on separating people from positions during disagreement.
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Podcast
Supporting women in community leadership (opens in a new tab)
Free
A podcast episode in which Big Local residents discuss who ends up leading, and what stops other people from doing so.
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Tool
Working with Conflict in Our Groups (opens in a new tab)
Free
A booklet of exercises for groups in conflict, including active listening in threes, conflict escalation mapping and a framework for informal mediation.
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Tool
Ecocycle Planning (opens in a new tab)
Free
A workshop method for mapping everything a group is doing onto a cycle of birth, maturity and renewal, in order to decide what to stop.
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Book
The Art of Gathering (opens in a new tab)
A book by Priya Parker on how meetings and events are shaped by their purpose, their openings and closings, and who is invited.
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Book
Time to Think (opens in a new tab)
A book by Nancy Kline setting out ten conditions for a meeting in which quieter people are more able to contribute.
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Membership
Association of Chairs (opens in a new tab)
A membership organisation which offers a rolling programme of online training on chairing, board culture and difficult meetings, alongside in-person peer groups.
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Training
Seeds for Change bespoke training (opens in a new tab)
Tailored workshops on decision-making and facilitation. Free or by donation for groups with no funds.
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Course
Trustee Leadership Programme (opens in a new tab)
Recurring online training sessions on board duties, board dynamics and governance.
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Course
Taster session in community organising (opens in a new tab)
Free
A two-hour online introduction to community organising methods, covering listening and power.
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Event
Locality Convention (opens in a new tab)
The annual gathering of England's community organisations, with site visits built into the programme.