Make the most of your meetings

Make the Most of
Your Meetings

Today we’ll learn more about . . .
Purposes and desired outcomes for meetings
Structuring an agenda
Who should be involved in meetings
Meeting roles
Being an effective meeting participant

Today we’ll learn more about . . .
Physical arrangements to help the meeting run more smoothly
Opening and closing the meeting
Setting ground rules
Decision-making methods
Key meeting-related facilitation skills

Preparation begins with asking these questions:
Is there a clear purpose for the meeting?
Should we meet now?
Is there a better alternative?
What if the meeting were not held?
Purpose and Outcomes for Meetings No Purpose = No Meeting

Information exchange
Learning
Creative thinking and generating ideas
Critical thinking
Accomplishing tasks
Building relationships and commitment
Reasons for meeting

An action agenda focuses on outcomes:
To achieve the desired meeting outcome, what must we do during the meeting?
And how much time will each item realistically require?
Agenda structure

Keys to an action agenda:
Beginning and ending times
Identify critical outcomes
Pre-meeting preparation by participants
List items in order of importance
Be specific
Estimate time for each item
Clearly state actions necessary
Identify who “owns” each item
Leave 15 minutes at end for summary and next steps
Agenda structure

Consider who:
Needs the information
Manages an affected function
Will be involved later
Has the facts or information needed
Is in charge or will have to implement
Is the decision maker
Who should be involved?

Important team roles include:
Team leader
Meeting Facilitator
Scribe
Timekeeper
“ Parking Lot” Attendant
Meeting roles

Team members can increase meeting effectiveness by:
Doing Homework.
Being on Time!
Participating.
Taking Notes.
Helping the Leader or Facilitator.
Not Being a Problem.
Being There.
Be an effective meeting participant

Physical arrangements to help meetings run smoothly:
Space
Equipment
Arrangements

Opening meetings:
Always start on time
Welcome and thank attendees
Review agenda
Clarify roles
Note use of recorder for minutes
Model energy and participation

Closing meetings:
Always end on time
Review actions and assignments
Clarify when minutes and/or actions will be reported back to members
Leave time to evaluate the meeting

Ground rules are standards of operating that determine how people conduct their discussions and make their decisions.
Process Ground Rules
Behavioral Ground Rules
Setting the rules of the game . . .

Decision-Making Procedures:
Unilateral
Consultative
Majority Rules
Consensus
Consensus is a decision in which everyone participates and which everyone can live with and support.
Decision-Making Procedures

Clearly define the issue.
Explore the issue.
Develop guiding principles for the decision.
Solicit a proposal.
Refine the proposal.
Ask for a show of consensus.
Those who can’t support or have concerns share reasons.
Supporters have opportunity to address.
Call for another show of consensus.
Consensus is reached if all participants support the proposal or can live with it.
Facilitating consensus

Facilitator Tools
Structured processes often produce better results than unstructured processes.
There are a variety of facilitator tools you can use . . .

Facilitator Tools
Brainstorming -- to bring out the ideas of each individual and present them in an orderly fashion
Nominal Group Technique --useful for prioritizing a list of issues
Affinity Diagram --to gather large amounts of data and organize into groupings
Flowcharting -- to depict the logical steps in a process

Facilitator Tools
Cause and Effect Diagram -- helps identify, sort, and display possible causes of a specific problem
Force Field Analysis -- identifies driving and restraining forces that affect a desired change
Gantt Chart -- a scheduling method to show order and timeframe of tasks to be performed

Carol Wargo
Workforce Dimensions
614-565-5902
[email_address]
Thank you for your participation!

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Make the most of your meetings

by GSETA on Sep 21, 2011

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Make the most of your meetings — Presentation Transcript