How to be a great committee chair: the best committee chairs set a tone of efficiency, civility, consistency and openness.

• Author: Feustel, Bruce
• Position: TOOLS OF THE TRADE

When you walk into a legislative committee meeting, you usually get an instant sense of the committee leader. Top-notch committee chairs set a tone for their committees, a balance of businesslike competence with civility and friendliness. The committee moves through the agenda efficiently, yet the committee members patiently listen to witnesses. Members don't drift off, engage in side conversations with their colleagues, or gaze into their laptops. A good committee chair is often so smooth that you don't particularly notice what he or she is doing, but you do recognize when the committee has done its work well. The following are some keys to success.

1 CREATE A COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLIST

Pre-meeting work is critical, and an important piece of that is keeping people in the loop. Set up a checklist to make sure you are giving key leaders, staff, members, interest groups and the media the information they need when they need it. "When I became a committee chair," says Representative Denise Merrill of Connecticut, "I didn't realize the magnitude of work involved in organizing, planning and balancing the interests of committee members." Creating a checklist helps manage the job.

2 BE THE BOSS

Committees need clear direction to do the important work of improving good bills and killing bad ones. "I have a Day One speech," says Senator Judy Lee of North Dakota. "We all have to work together to get through the enormous amount of work we have to do. We are going to enjoy and appreciate the input we get from committee members, lobbyists, staff, agency people and citizens. Tough questions are OK, but they must be presented in a courteous and civil manner."

3 BECOME THE KNOWLEDGE EXPERT

"Knowledge earns you respect faster than anything else," says Representative Merrill. Committee chairs earn the respect of their peers and the public when they know the rules, subject matter and political implications. Sometimes, you just have to "study up" to get the knowledge you need to lead the committee.

4 YOU CAN'T ALWAYS BE THE NICE GUY

Every legislature gets some bills that sound wonderful but just aren't feasible or a priority. The temptation is always there to pass it in committee and let the entire legislative body or the other house make the hard choice when it comes up for a full vote. This isn't always a good idea. Sometimes a committee passes out a bill thinking it will be defeated or tabled later, only to find it just sails through the legislature, says...