课程: Project Management Foundations

Run effective meetings

课程: Project Management Foundations

Run effective meetings

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- Meetings chew up time and energy that people could be using to get things done. And because meetings include several people, they cost more than other work. But sometimes, they're the best way to work and communicate. If you hold a meeting, make it count. The first step to a productive meeting is to know what you're trying to accomplish. Identify the purpose of the meeting and the results you need like approval to move forward or to resolve an issue. Create an agenda. That way, you can make sure to cover every item. You can keep discussions on topic and you'll have a fighting chance to finish your meeting on time. On the agenda, list the discussion topics. Don't forget to include your time estimate for each topic. The more people you have in a meeting, the harder it is to get things done. That's why the third step is to limit the attendees to the people you need to accomplish your goal. Also, give attendees a chance to prepare. Schedule the meeting when it works for them and send the meeting invitation and materials ahead of time. For example, if you want stakeholders to approve a revised plan, send the meeting request and the plan before the meeting. Start and finish meetings on time even if all attendees aren't there. Be strong. Don't backtrack when people show up late. That just reinforces their rude behavior. Facilitate the meeting to keep everyone focused on the meeting's objectives. As project manager, you have lots to do in a meeting. Ask someone else to be the facilitator. The facilitator kicks off the meeting with a brief introduction, the purpose of the meeting, the agenda topics, the attendees, and the ground rules for interaction. The facilitator can coax people to participate or if the discussion starts to go off track, they can wrangle it back on topic, for example, by adding a topic to the parking lot to be handled later. Finally, take good meeting notes. How else will you remember decisions, action items, and who's responsible for them? During the meeting, someone can document items on a whiteboard or a flip chart. If possible, appoint someone else to be the scribe. After the meeting, you can edit the notes to emphasize action items, who's responsible for them and when they're due. Distribute the notes to attendees and anyone else who needs to know. If you run effective meetings, your projects will run more smoothly and you're sure to win popularity contests at work. Give yourself a head start. For practice, create a checklist of things to do before you hold a meeting.

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