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Description

Strategic Meetings: Framing the Issues, Leading the Debate and Confirming Decisions

Turn a committee meeting into a genuine decision-making forum rather than a round of updates

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Intermediate
  • Up to 6 participants

Executive meetings and steering committees accumulate information items and leave little room for trade-offs. Heavy subjects arrive at the end of the agenda, decisions are postponed and everyone leaves with their own interpretation. These sessions are costly and their decision-making output remains low.

Two days to build a decision-focused agenda, prepare briefing papers in advance, lead opposing arguments without letting them drift and confirm decisions that genuinely commit participants. Attendees work on the governance bodies they actually chair.

Learning objectives

  • Build a prioritised agenda around the decisions to be taken
  • Prepare briefing papers and participants ahead of the session
  • Lead a debate involving opposing views while holding the course
  • Bring a decision to the surface and record it without ambiguity
  • Organise the follow-up of decisions between two sessions

What makes this programme different

Work on the actual agenda of the committee chaired by the participant
Simulation of a committee meeting with trade-offs under time pressure
A ready-to-use decision record template

Programme

1Preparing the Session

A meeting is won beforehand

  • Qualify each item as information debate or decision
  • Prioritise the agenda according to what is at stake
  • Prepare and circulate briefing papers in advance
  • Select the participants who add value to each item
  • Set the operating rules of the committee

2Leading the Debate

Give disagreement a voice

  • Open the session by restating the objective and the time available
  • Manage speaking time and give minority positions a hearing
  • Distinguish facts from interpretations
  • Refocus a debate that is drifting
  • Handle power dynamics around the table

3Deciding

Removing ambiguity

  • Make the chosen decision-making method explicit
  • Set the trade-off criteria before ruling
  • Formulate the decision and its conditions of application
  • Handle deferred decisions and their deadlines
  • Own an unpopular decision in front of the group

4Follow-Up and Embedding

What happens after the session

  • Draft a short and unambiguous decision record
  • Assign an owner and a deadline to each action
  • Communicate decisions to the teams
  • Review progress at the following session
  • Assess and improve how the committee operates

Who is it for

This programme is intended for executives and members of management committees as well as managers who chair steering bodies.

Prerequisites

Experience of chairing steering meetings or committees is required.

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.