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Hear Susan
Speak
Listen to her
20 minute interview with David Wolf on 9/28/07
(.MP3 format, 14.5 MB)
Susan Junda
Dynamic Solutions
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 888-4786
the Dynamic Solutions Electronic Newsletter
May/June 2008
What's
Going On Out There - a message from Susan
Spring is well on its way, the gorgeous days, windy days and rainy days (in some places). The economy is definitely tightening up. My clients are being cautious about how (and if) they spend their training dollars.
It’s odd, but I have seen it happen a few times over the last 12 years - in a tight economy, the requests for Project Management training (or consulting, facilitation, coaching) actually increase in the down times. Why? Well, from my perspective (and you can email other thoughts on this if you’d like), if you are going to train your people, it might as well be on something that can help to improve the bottom line, and fairly quickly. As projects, and the people working on them, get better planned and organized, work is done in a more efficient manner (both time-wise and cost-wise as time IS money!), so the benefits do out weigh the costs with this learning!
I will be “bi-coastal” a few times over the next few months and would be more than willing to meet with you when I am in your area to discuss your specific project(s) and team/staff development challenges and needs. Check out the “Where’s Susan?” section at the end of this e-newsletter.
And don’t forget! You can send me YOUR most pressing issue or challenge using the “Ask Susan” link below. Your issue may be addressed in a future newsletter!
Enjoy the “entry into summer!”
Susan
Project Management World
The Problem...
Poorly Run Team Meetings
There must be a belief “out there” that anyone can run a good meeting. I say “must be” because this is an area that not many organizations seem to want to address. Do they think that all is going well in “meeting land” throughout the company? If so, they should hear the earful of complaints and stories that I get from participants in my classes about what they have seen happen in meetings they attend (or run).
Scroll down to see the solution from all three perspectives or jump to the Senior Management, Project Manager, or Team Member perspective.
The Solution...
From the Senior Management (or boss) Perspective...
It’s one thing to insure that your Project Managers know how to plan and execute a project and develop a team. It is another to assume they know how to run a meeting.
Good meeting management is an art and a science. What I mean by this is that you can do a lot to create a structure and guidelines for the meeting, but one always has to be prepared for the unexpected, because we are dealing with people dynamics here and people are not predictable!
What is your organization’s culture around meetings? Consider the following to answer this question:
- Do meetings start on time? End on time?
- Is a preplanned agenda required for all meetings?
- If so, does the agenda have to be sent out within a certain time period before the meeting?
- Are meeting minutes mandatory? If so, how long after the meeting does the leader have to send them out?
- Are people allowed to do “other work” at meetings? (things like texting, reading memos, answering emails, etc.)
- On the average, how long does it take for YOUR staff (or your team) to make a decision?
- How does one deal with disruptive behavior at meetings? Is it just ignored? Or is it addressed in a healthy manner?
If you answer these questions, you will get a sense of your organization’s culture around meetings. And I guarantee you that this culture permeates throughout your ranks to meetings at all levels of the company.
Why not address these issues and create the “norm” of having ground rules that can alleviate some of the toxics issues that prevent good meeting management (and behavior by team members)? Bottom line, meetings cost companies a lot of money! Want proof? Just multiply the average hourly salary for all meeting attendees by the number of hours of the meeting and you will see what I mean.
From the Project Manager Perspective...
Of course, all of the questions above in the Senior Management area apply to your meetings too! Is it time to do a meeting assessment with your team to find out how THEY think your meetings are going? And work to improve them?
Let’s discuss the 2 MAJOR ISSUES that I hear Project Managers complain about in running meetings - LATENESS and DISTRACTIONS.
LATENESS: It seems like meetings rarely start on time in most organizations. One reason is that meetings END on the hour and the next one STARTS on the hour. Hmm...we need a “passing period” like we had in high school! So why not try this:
- Start your meetings at 5 minutes AFTER the hour (i.e. at 10:05am instead of 10:00am), thus eliminating the "just getting out of the prior meeting" excuse, and
- End the meeting 5 minutes BEFORE the hour (i.e. at 10:55am instead of at 11:00am), thus enabling your team members to get to their next meeting on time (which they will appreciate!)
Yes, 50 minutes is a “short” hour meeting, so yes, you should have a tightly TIMED agenda with a facilitator for each topic. Also, if applicable, list what you want to walk away with from each discussion YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
DISTRACTIONS: In today’s world, there are so many!! -- laptops, cell phones, pagers, IMing, texting, reading emails and memos. If these activities are going on at your meeting, your team is NOT fully present and participating. And who, might I ask, pays for this later on in the week when they don’t “hear” something correctly or miss an action item? YOU DO! Because you will have to take the time to rectify the miscommunication, no matter what it is about.
So, how DO you maintain control? The best thing is never to let the distracting behaviors start in the first place (by creating agreed to ground rules with the team at the first meeting). But if it’s too late, you can always request that they be fully present at the meeting and eliminate the distractions. Here are a few creative ideas that teams I have worked with have come up with:
- Leave the cell phones in a box at the door - it’s only for 50 minutes!
- Create a list of common songs everyone knows and whoever comes in late or answers a cell phone has to sing one!
- An offender brings snacks to the next meeting for the team.
- Charge $5 for being late, $5 if your cell phone goes off (if you don’t put it on silent), and $20 if you answer it! The kitty grows fast!! Then use the money to do something fun with the team, or donate it to a charity of the team’s choice.
Be creative. Invent these ground rules with your team to eliminate lateness and distractions. Make it FUN.
From the Team Member Perspective...
I have to be honest here. When I first became a team member, I did LOTS of other work at project team meetings. I only paid attention when it was about the work I had to do or something that affected that work. Sound familiar?
Then I realized that the “big picture” of the project WAS interesting! And all the roles my colleagues played in it had merit, were important and many times, if I listened, affected the work that I did too.
I can tell you that, whether your Project Manager has the courage to ask you for it or not, he/she WANTS YOU TO BE FULLY PRESENT AT THE MEETING!! Distractions affect everyone. Your doing “other work” and not listening fully can have a major impact on the project if you miss something important.
AND...It is a HORRIBLE feeling to lead a meeting where no one is paying attention - or walking in whenever they feel like it! Put yourself in the leader’s shoes.
So, can you plan your time well enough to BE at the meeting fully? And make suggestions for improvement in the format and running of the meeting if necessary? Stated in a helpful tone, the Project Manage might appreciate the feedback!
Where's Susan?
Want to meet?
June 15-18 - Seattle, WA
June 18-22 - Salt Lake City, UT
June 22-25 - San Francisco, CAJuly 2-8 - West Palm Beach, FL
July 10-14 - between Colorado Springs and Boulder, CO
July 16-18 - San Diego, CAAugust 11-13 - Los Angeles, CA
August 14-18 - Central NJ area
August 19-22 - Denver, CO
Ask Susan
If you want more information on what we can do to help your Project Teams be more successful, please click here to visit my Project Management page or click here for my Team Development page.
Do you have any questions, comments, suggestions for improvement? If you do, I'd love to hear them. Your feedback will help make this e-newsletter better. To send me your feedback, .