EffectiveMeetingSkills

ALCPre‐Reading February3,2010 1

ProductiveMeetings

Productivemeetingsfollowastandardformat.Byfollowingasetplan,timeisspentmoreefficientlyandeveryonewhoattendshasasimilarexpectationofthemeeting.Standardelementsofameetingformatinclude:

Clearlydefinedroles, Asettimedagendapreparedaheadoftime, Meetinggroundrulesthathavebeenagreeduponbytheteam.

MeetingRoles

BuildingaGoodAgenda

LEADER: Preparesagenda Movesagenda Elicitsparticipation

Theleaderofthemeetingshouldbetheleaderforamonthorasetperiodoftimetoensurefollowthroughandcontinuityonaphaseofimprovement.

RECORDER: Preparesavisualrecordofthemeetingforthegroup,andnextactionlist. Usesflipchartstohighlightdecisionsandnextsteps.Theflipchartscanbedisplayedinadesignatedplaceafterthemeeting.

Ifthetechnologyisavailable,therecordercantypenotesdirectlyonacomputerduringthemeetingandthendistributethenoteselectronically.Ideally,thecomputerisalsoconnectedtoaLCDprojectorduringthemeetingssothateveryonecanfollowalongwhilethenotesarebeingtypedthustheLCDbecomesthe“electronic”flipchart.

TIMEKEEPER: Verballyannouncesamountoftimeremainingandwhentimeisup. Giveshalf‐wayandoneminutenoticesforagendaitemsbeingdiscussed.

FACILITATOR:

Helpstomanagegroupprocess Balancesparticipation Keepsgroupfocusedonobjectives

EffectiveMeetingSkills

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Theagendaisanimportantpartofyourmeeting.Itshouldbesentoutandreviewedbytheteammembersbeforethemeetingsothatallmembersarepreparedfortheworkthatisexpectedtobeaccomplished.Itemsofworkforthemeetingarelistedandassignedtoresponsiblepersonssothateverymemberoftheteamknowswhatinformationhe/sheisresponsibletobringtothemeeting.Duringthefirstpartofthemeeting,meetingrolesareclarified/assigned.Thishelpsyoutostayontaskbeforeyougetstarted.Follow‐uptasksareneverassignedtoabsentteammembersbecauseitdoesn’tallowfordiscussionortrueownershipofthetask.Ifsomeoneisunabletoattendmeetings,butiswillingtotakeonatask,thatshouldbeannouncedtotheteamonlyifafirmcommitmentismadebytheabsentteammember.Therecorderliststhespecificaction/itemsandpersonsresponsibleforeachitemintheminutesofthemeeting.Thislistisusedtogeneratetheagendaforyournextmeetingandhelpsyouteamknowwhotofollowupwithforactionitems.Everymeetingshouldbeevaluatedforitseffectiveness.Thisshouldhappenthelastfewminutesofthemeeting.Thosescoringshouldbepreparedtoexpresswhytheyscoredinthewaytheydid.Usingascaleof0‐10with10beingthebestmeetingeveranddescribingwhatwentwellandwhatcouldbeimprovedhelpsdevelopopencommunicationamongtheteamandprovidefeedbackonthemeetingprocess.

ASampleMeetingAgenda:

EffectiveMeetingSkills

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ExamplesofMeetingGroundRules:

Meetinggroundrulesthatareestablishedbythemeetingteamhelptheteammoveforwardintheirthinkingandworkespeciallywhentheygettotheplacewhendifficultissuesaretobediscussedordecisionsmade.

Bepresentandreadytobeginontime.(Arriveearlytostartontime.) Nosideconversations. Cutofflengthydiscussionsandassignofflineactionsasnecessary. Assignaleader,facilitator,recorder,andtimekeeperatthebeginningofeachmeeting. Haveandfollowanagenda‐addtimesforeachagendaitem. Ifyouoppose,youmustpropose. Assignactionitemsonlytopeoplepresentatthemeeting. Chooseactionitemduedateswith80%confidence. Strivefor100%ontime,butprovideadvancewarningifanactionitemwillnotbecompletedontime. Useprocesscheck,“Isthiswhatwewanttobediscussingrightnow:Shouldthesubjectbetakenofflinefromhere?”

Ifthingsgetheated,focusonthesituationorissue,nottheperson. Respectforeachothernomatterhowcontentiousthetopic.

Adopted from Scholtes Peter R, Joiner Brian L, Streibel Barabara J. The TEAM Handbook, 3rd Edition, Oriel Incorporated, Madison, WI, 2003 (from the Dartmouth Clinical Microsystem http://dms.dartmouth.edu/cms/toolkits/getting_started/) By - Dorothy A. Bazos, RN, PhD, Director Community Engagement, Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice Go to: www.clinicalmicrosystem.org and click “Toolkits - Getting Started” to find meeting cards to support the meeting roles.