Show Notes
Succession planning and performance review sound like the kind of governance topics that get added to the agenda and then quietly moved to next meeting. This episode makes the case that they’re not optional — and uses the most dramatic governance failure in European history to prove it. The good news is that the practical tools are straightforward: a skills matrix, an anonymous survey, a bit of honest self-reflection, and a frank conversation over coffee. Considerably less messy than the alternative.
In This Episode
- Why the French monarchy is the ultimate case study in failed succession planning — and what Louis XVI’s 59-year-old grandfather has to do with your committee
- What succession planning actually is — and what it definitely is not (installing your allies, making sure everyone thinks like you)
- L’État, c’est moi: the fastest route to a committee that has completely lost touch with its members
- The skills matrix: how to map what your organisation needs and make your gaps immediately visible
- Robespierre as a cautionary tale about what happens when someone decides their interests and the organisation’s interests are one and the same
- Why subcommittees and working groups are an excellent proving ground for future committee members — far more democratic than hereditary monarchy
- The Committee of Public Safety: 12 members, enormous powers, zero accountability — and what followed
- A simple three-part performance review process: anonymous survey, self-reflection and a one-on-one with the president
- The question every long-serving committee member needs to ask themselves honestly
- Plus: the case for recruiting firefighters onto your committee 🚒
Free Downloads
Two templates from Kate H’s Committee Companion are in the show notes:
This Week’s Challenges
Two this week, in the spirit of revolutionary ambition:
First — does your committee have a skills matrix? If not, that’s your Bastille to storm. A rough first version mapped out in a single meeting is infinitely better than nothing. The template is in the show notes.
Second — when did your committee last review its own performance? If the answer is never, put it on the agenda now and commit to a date. The performance survey template in the show notes will take you most of the way there.
Got a Question for the Kates?
If you’ve got a governance question you’d like the Kates to tackle on the show, or a situation you’re not sure how to handle, use the contact form at thecommitteeroom.com.au. No question is too basic — and the feedback mechanism is considerably gentler than Madame La Guillotine.
About Your Hosts
Kate Hartwig has spent forty years working in and around not-for-profit and membership organisations — as a CEO, director, and independent consultant. Her Committee Companion is a head start on good governance with checklists, frameworks and exemplars for committee members. katehartwig.com.au
Kate McPhee has three decades of hands-on experience helping small clubs and associations get more done with less stress. She is the author of Just a Tick, a plain-English governance guide for committees and boards. liquoriceallsorts.com.au
Together they offer governance health checks and practical support through Fresh Allsorts.
This podcast provides general information on best practice governance for small to medium not-for-profit associations. It is not legal advice.
Timestamps
00:00 — In celebration of Bastille Day — lessons in governance from the French Revolution
01:13 — Introducing the Kates and this episode on succession planning and performance review
02:28 — Succession planning
03:56 — What succession planning is not
04:34 — The skills matrix
05:08 — Robespierre — a cautionary tale
05:51 — Subcommittees and working groups as a proving ground
06:18 — The ideal committee member?
07:48 — Performance review
08:53 — Simple three-part process
09:16 — 1 — The survey
09:58 — 2 — Self reflection
10:18 — 3 — One on one with the president
10:40 — Time to move on?
11:25 — Recap
12:15 — This week’s challenges
12:43 — Skills matrix and performance survey templates
12:55 — Ask Us Anything!
13:15 — Wrap-up and next episode
Next Episode
The Smarter Meetings series begins. The hard work of a good meeting is done well before anyone walks in the room — next episode, the Kates tackle everything that needs to happen before you sit down.
Resources & Links
🎙️ The Committee Room thecommitteeroom.com.au — episode archive, show notes, downloads and contact form
🍬 Fresh Allsorts freshallsorts.com.au — Governance Health Checks and practical services from both Kates
Kate Hartwig Consulting katehartwig.com.au — including the Committee Companion, a head start on good governance with checklists, frameworks and exemplars
Liquorice Allsorts Consulting liquoriceallsorts.com.au — including Just a Tick, Kate McPhee’s plain-English governance guide
Facebook: The Committee Room
LinkedIn: The Committee Room
Liberté, égalité, bonne gouvernance.
The Committee Room | thecommitteeroom.com.au