LC7 Managing Meetings -- Outline

Leading Productive Management Meeting

• Deciding when a meeting is the best forum
• What is the purpose and expected outcome?
• Will a meeting accomplish that purpose more efficiently? More effective?
• Can I describe exactly the outcome I am seeking from the meeting?
• Is our group more productive when we meet?
• Completing the essential planning
• Clarifying purpose and expected outcome
• Determining topics for the agenda
• Selecting attendees
• Considering the setting
• Establishing needed meeting information
• Conducting a productive meeting
• Deciding on the decision - making approach
• Company culture will often determine the decision making approach
• Manage expectations by communicating to your attendees
• Clarifying leader and attendee roles and responsibilities
• Leader
• Facilitator
• Note taker
• Timekeeper
• Establishing meeting ground rules
• Introduce yourself when you join the meeting
• State your name prior to your comments throughout the call
• Avoid any side conversations since not all participants can hear them
• Keep the speakerphone close to the person who is talking to avoid backgrund noise
• Avoid tapping pens or shuffling papers since theses sounds may be exaggerated on the other end
• Using common problem - solving approaches
• Brainstorming
• Ranking or rating
• Sorting by category or logical groups
• Edward de bono's six thinking hats
• Opposition analysis
• Decision trees
• From/ to analysis
• Fore - Field analysis
• The matrix
• Frameworks
• Managing meeting problems and conflict
• Handling specific meeting problems
• Confused objectives and expectations
• Unclear roles and responsibilities
• Confusion between process and content
• Drifting off tapic
• Data confusion or overload
• Repetition and wheel spinning
• Time violations
• Managing meeting conflict
• Turn the question to the group
• Use the is/is not approach or a pro/con format
• Try listing points of agreement and disagreement
• Attempt to get at underlying assumptions
• Shift the discussion to the facts
• Dealing with cultural differences
• Context
• Information flow
• Time
• Language
• Power
• Ensuring meetings lead to action
• Assign specific tasks to specific people
• Review all actions and responsibilities at the end of the meeting
• Provide a meeting summary with assigned deliverables included
• Follow up on action items in a reasonable time