General Robert, as in Robert's Rules of Order, in 1893 stated,"It is the duty of the chair, and his function, to preserve order and to take care that the proceedings are conducted in a proper manner, and that the sense of the meeting is properly ascertained with regard to any question which is properly before the meeting"
"It is the duty of the chair, and his function, to preserve order and to take care that the proceedings are conducted in a proper manner, and that the sense of the meeting is properly ascertained with regard to any question which is properly before the meeting"
Once elected, the chair takes on responsibility (def. answerable or accountable for results, cause) for a series of tasks that are critical to the success of the organization. Each organization needs to define for itself in policy the role of its chair. Therefore, the following list of roles and responsibilities should be considered a guideline. However, if the chair takes responsibility only for pounding the gavel and deciding who speaks at the meeting, the board and the organization will under perform and may well be on the road to problems.