ABA Committee Collaboration Session | Building Strong Committees. Advancing ABA’s Mission.

ABA Committee Leadership Retreat

Theme: Building Strong Committees. Advancing ABA’s Mission.

Audience:

• Committee Chairs
• Vice Chairs
• Secretaries
• Treasurers (where applicable)
• ABA Staff Liaisons

Length: 3 Hours

Desired Outcomes By the end of the retreat, committee leadership teams will:

• Understand leadership expectations and committee governance.
• Develop or refine their committee’s annual strategic plan.
• Identify key initiatives, programs, and deliverables for the year.
• Establish committee success metrics.
• Identify future leaders and succession plans.
• Build stronger relationships and collaboration across committees.
• Commit to next steps and accountability measures.  

Retreat Agenda (3 Hours)

8:00 AM – 8:20 AM

Welcome, Vision & State of the Association

Facilitated by ABA Leadership

Topics:

• Why committees matter
• ABA strategic priorities for the year
• Connection between committee work and organizational success
• Expectations for committee leaders

Discussion Prompt

“If every committee was wildly successful this year, what impact would our members feel?”

Outcome Shared understanding of purpose and priorities.

8:20 AM – 8:45 AM

Committee Leadership Expectations

Review:

• Committee structure
• Chair responsibilities
• Vice Chair responsibilities
• Secretary responsibilities
• Committee member expectations
• Meeting standards
• Accountability measures
• Annual Committee Summit expectations

Interactive Exercise

Leadership Table Discussion:

What does an effective committee look like? Teams identify:

• Top 3 characteristics of successful committees
• Top 3 committee challenges
• Solutions for overcoming barriers

Each table shares one key takeaway.

Outcome Alignment around expectations and best practices.

8:45 AM – 9:45 AM

Strategic Planning Workshop

Break leadership teams into committee groups.

Provide each committee with a Strategic Planning Worksheet.

Part 1: Mission Check (10 Minutes)

Questions:

• Why does our committee exist?
• How do we support ABA’s strategic priorities?
• What value do we provide members?

Deliverable:

• One-sentence committee mission statement.

Part 2: Annual Priorities (20 Minutes)

Ask each committee to identify:

Top Three Priorities

Examples:

• Education
• Advocacy
• Workforce Development
• Membership Growth

For each priority, condsier:

• Objective
• Desired outcome
• Success metric
• Timeline

Part 3: Programs & Deliverables (15 Minutes)

Identify:

• Programs
• Events
• Resources
• Member engagement opportunities

Questions:

• What will our committee deliver this year?
• What specific member benefits will result?

Connect back to ABA’s requirement that committees support at least one initiative, event, or program annually.

Part 4: Success Metrics (15 Minutes)

Determine:

• Attendance goals
• Engagement goals
• Program participation goals
• Committee growth goals

Questions:

• How will we measure success?
• What outcomes matter most?

9:45 AM – 10:00 AM

Committee Collaboration Opportunity

Encourage committees to meet with leaders from different committees.

Provide discussion prompts:

• What initiative are you most excited about?
• Where could another committee help you?

10:00 AM – 10:40 AM

Cross-Committee Collaboration Lab

Mixed committee groups.

Challenge: Identify opportunities to work together.

Examples:

• Workforce Development + Young Professionals
• Safety + Education
• Membership + Events
• Legislative Affairs + Emerging Leaders

Questions:

1. What issues affect multiple committees?
2. What events could be jointly hosted?
3. Where could resources be shared?
4. What opportunities are being missed?

Deliverable: Each group identifies:

• 1 collaborative initiative
• 1 shared resource opportunity
• 1 cross-promotion opportunity

Outcome Reduced silos and stronger organizational alignment.

10:40 AM – 11:10 AM

Leadership Pipeline & Succession Planning

This directly supports the Vice Chair-to-Chair framework outlined in your document.

Discussion Topics:

Current Leadership Assessment

• What is working well?
• Where are leadership gaps?

Future Leaders Exercise

Complete a simple talent matrix:

Ready Now

• Potential future Chairs

Ready in 1-2 Years

• Emerging leaders

Needs Development

• Members showing interest and potential

Questions:

• Who consistently shows up?
• Who volunteers?
• Who influences others positively?
• Who could lead a project next year?

Deliverable: Committee succession plan.

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11:10 AM – 11:30 AM

Committee Commitments & Closing

Each committee presents:

Our Top 3 Priorities

Our Signature Initiative

Our Leadership Development Goal

One Collaboration Opportunity

ABA Staff captures commitments.

Conclude with:

Leadership Commitment Each Chair and Vice Chair completes:

“Our committee commits to supporting ABA’s mission by…”

Leadership teams sign or acknowledge their annual commitment and next steps.

Materials to Provide

Committee Leadership Workbook

Include:

1. Committee Expectations Document
2. Committee Roster
3. Annual Calendar
4. Strategic Planning Worksheet
5. Succession Planning Worksheet
6. Meeting Agenda Template
7. Meeting Minutes Template
8. ABA Strategic Priorities Summary

Retreat Deliverables

By the end of the retreat, every committee should leave with:

Leadership Commitment Statement
Annual Committee Work Plan
Three Strategic Priorities
Committee Calendar
Signature Program/Event
Quarterly Success Metrics
Leadership Succession Plan

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