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Guide to a Productive Meeting. Getting Organized. If you're the leader, you should never try to "wing it" in a meeting. Even a freewheeling brainstorming session requires some advance planning. So before your meeting, answer these questions: Do we really need a meeting?
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Getting Organized If you're the leader, you should never try to "wing it" in a meeting. Even a freewheeling brainstorming session requires some advance planning. So before your meeting, answer these questions: • Do we really need a meeting? • Who needs to be there? • What should be the outcome? • What type of meeting is it? • What's the "road map"? • How should people prepare?
Using Time Wisely Here's how to make the most productive use of your meeting time: • Distribute the agenda and important information before the meeting. • Start on time. Waiting for stragglers punishes those who got there on schedule. • Discuss the most important items first. Resist the temptation to “get quick items out of the way”.
Using Time Wisely cont. • Turn off cell phones and close laptops. • Follow the agenda, but deviate from it if important issues arise. • Keep the discussion focused on one topic at a time. • Keep moving the discussion towards the goal.
Using Time Wisely cont. • Create a place – sometimes called a “Parking Lot” – to list topics for later discussion. • For long meetings, plan scheduled breaks to keep people from wandering in and out. • Arrange a later time to discuss issues that involve only a few members. • Specify a realistic ending time and stick to it.
Moving From Discussion to Action If your meeting is to accomplish anything, everyone must understand what happens next. This is especially critical in decision-making meetings. Here's how to make something happen: • Before adjourning, summarize what occurred during the meeting. Review all decisions that were made. • Create a “Next Steps” list of actions to be taken as a result of the meeting. • Assign responsibility for each action item.
Moving From Discussion to Action cont. • Agree on schedules and deadlines where appropriate. • Set a specific time to assess progress on these action steps. • If there will be a follow-up meeting, describe what must be done before the group meets again.
Seven Signs that Your Team Will Fail When you ask people to describe the experience Of working in teams, they often use words like - Frustrating - Disappointing - Waste of Time
Seven Signs that Your Team Will Fail cont. How can you tell whether a team will produce outstanding results or flame out completely? • Too Many Superstars – one that is very prominent or is a prime attraction; a diplomatic superstar • Fuzzy Goals - is the goal that is so vague as to be, in practice, impossible to achieve; for example, peace on earth. Even theoretically achievable, they lack sufficient definition to focus the creative activity.
Seven Signs that Your Team Will Fail cont. • Poorly Defined Roles - Groups operate more effectively when members are assigned tasks that they can do well. Unclear roles and poorly defined areas of responsibility ultimately lead to group conflict and dissatisfaction of individuals. • Cliques and Factions -a narrow exclusive circle or group of persons; especially one held together by common interests, views, or purposes, a party or group that is often contentious or self-seeking
seven Signs that Your Team Will Fail cont. • Mean-Spirited Conflicts - Having or characterized by a malicious or petty spirit; characterized by or displaying a propensity to be mean; selfish, malicious, etc. • Impossible Tasks - It is used for tasks that are of extreme difficulty, that one may have not completed. • Lack of Laughter - There are many things in life that we have no control over and can’t change. As long as we have a sense of humor, we can do something. Humor has the power to turn almost any situation around.
