Cooperation and Atmosphere
The atmosphere in your committee or council is incredibly important. A close-knit council works together better, and is better at enduring tougher periods during a council year which would hamstring other councils. You will undoubtedly go through more difficult periods during a council year. Ideally you will continually work on good and strong cooperation. It is important to spend time working on cooperation and atmosphere before encountering such a period. Therefore it’s good to keep the following points in mind.
Be (pro-)active
- Be (pro-)active in regards to atmosphere. Reserve a part of the budget to do a communal activity every once in a while for example.
- Be (pro-)active in regards to cooperation. A valuable measure in this regard can be to evaluate the cooperation regularly. At many institutions the (central) co-determination even spends a weekend away to work on this.
The elections
In some institutions elections are a tough affair. Be proactive in managing related conflicts:
- Make agreements about how you will go into the campaign period as soon as possible: what is, and what is not allowed? There should already be regulations on election periods from the institution, but by making agreements yourself you could fill possible gaps in those regulations, and create more support for the rules.
- Get to know each other before campaigning starts. By doing so you avoid starting your relationship with an elections conflict.
Werkafspraken
- Make clear work agreements at the start of the year, but don’t be scared to revise them throughout the year. Knowing what you can expect from each other can prevent much frustration, but your agreements should of course continue to fit with your situation. And your situation can change considerably throughout the year.
- Talk about how you will handle feedback beforehand. When in doubt, keep the following rules in mind:
- Feedback is a gift, not an attack. Your fellow council members want the best for you, and they benefit when you’re able to do your work better to. Additionally, personal growth is one of the most important rewards for your work as co-determination-member, and feedback from your colleagues is an important way you reach that.
- The moment someone receives feedback determines partially how well they can receive it. It may help to ask someone whether they are open for feedback at that moment. Of course you can’t ‘run from’ feedback indefinitely.
- Keep to the principles of behaviour, consequence, feeling, wanted behaviour. Name the behaviour your giving feedback about. Explain what the consequence of said behaviour is according to you, how you feel about that, and finally what you would want to see in the future.
- Be ready to ask questions when you receive feedback. By doing so you show that you’re taking the feedback seriously, and you want to understand it well enough to get to work on it.
Above all: make sure to ensure gezelligheid every once in a while. Make jokes, do fun things together and celebrate each others’ successes!