Improve meetings

Improve meetings

1. Who will moderate the meeting?

2. How will the moderator prepare the agenda?

3. Who needs to participate in the meeting?

4. When and where will the meeting be?

5. How will the moderator start the meeting?

6. How will the moderator moderate idea sharing?

7. How will meeting participants stop meetings that don’t work?

8. How will the moderator moderate decision making?

9. How will the moderator finish the meeting?

10. How will the moderator follow up on the meeting?

Question # 1 Who will moderate the meeting?

# 2: An employee

# 1: A manager

Moderator possibilities

# 3: An external moderator

A manager is intellectually so challenged, that he/she is not capable of managing the process.

http://news.nzzexecutive.ch/arbeitsmarkt/uebersicht/tv_sprecher_sind_eigentlich_keine_moderatoren_1.8140678.html

3 questions when searching for a meeting facilitator: 1. Who has little at stake in terms of meeting outcomes and therefore can focus on managing the conversation rather than adding content?

2. Who is good at involving people that have different values?

3. Who could learn a lot by facilitating the meeting?

Adapted from https://hbr.org/2016/12/just-because-youre-in-charge-doesnt-mean-you-should-run-every-meeting

Question # 2 How will the moderator prepare the agenda?

Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meeting-agenda-2556622

Question # 3 Who needs to participate in the meeting?

Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meeting-participants-2557939

Question # 4 When and where will the meeting be?

Task A Prepare meeting time

Sources http://www.doodle.com/ https://www.google.com/calendar/ https://hbr.org/2015/03/the-tools-you-need-to-make-every-meeting-more-productive

Keep the duration of the meeting as short and unconventional as possible.

Example: 23 minutes.

Adapted from Pittampalli, Al: Read this before our next meeting, location 294. http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/strategic_decisions_when_can_you_trust_your_gut

Task B Prepare meeting place

Sources https://hangouts.google.com/ http://www.skype.com/

Stand-up meetings help keep meetings short.

http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/31505/in-praise-of-stand-up-meetings https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/207490 http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/15-secrets-running-meetings-like-the-worlds-top-innovative-companies.html

When everyone sits down in meetings, it helps meeting participants become equal to one another, as they have the same height.

https://hbr.org/2016/05/stand-up-meetings-dont-work-for-everybody

Jeff Bezos brought an empty chair into meetings to encourage meeting participants to think about the customer.

http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/leadership-lessons-from-jeff-bezos

Question # 5 How will the moderator start the meeting?

Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meeting-start-2557961

Question # 6 How will the moderator moderate idea sharing

Sources http://answergarden.ch/ https://www.atizo.com/starter/ http://www.partizo.com/ http://popplet.com/

Take photos and/or video clips of what participants produce

https://hbr.org/2015/03/meetings-when-to-present-and-when-to-converse

Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brainstorming-the-disney-method-1449101 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brainstorming-the-SCAMPER-method-1452356

Question # 7 How will meeting participants stop meetings that don’t work?

People, who work for Lenovo,

stop meetings that are wandering. http://www.inc.com/chuck-blakeman/great-companies-are-making-all-meetings-optional.html

If someone uses his or her smartphone in a meeting, ask, ”excuse me, is there something about what you are doing now that you need to share with everybody?”

Adapted from https://youtu.be/4QXqgbMuHcE

If someone talks a lot, ask, “can you please keep your comments to a minimum to allow others to be heard?�

https://hbr.org/2013/12/the-seven-imperatives-to-keeping-meetings-on-track/

Any meeting participant, who finds that a meeting is going off course regarding topic and/or how communication is done, can say �I think we are having a jellyfish moment�.

This means that the moderator must moderate the meeting better. https://hbr.org/2016/04/the-right-way-to-cut-people-off-in-meetings

Question # 8 How will the moderator moderate decision making?

Possibility A The moderator summarizes and concludes.

Everyone silently agrees.

The facilitator summarises what he / she has heard to secure agreement. And concludes: “So what I am hearing is that ....... Am I right that you agree with this?� http://fac-vid.squarespace.com/bedre-moeder/Ravn%20-%20Bedre%20mder%20gennem%20facilitering.pdf p. 9. https://hbr.org/2016/02/before-a-meeting-tell-your-team-that-silence-means-agreement http://unlessiheardifferently.com/

Possibility B The moderator makes a vote where the majority decides

Ideas Idea # 1

Idea # 2 Idea # 3

Votes for

Votes against

A majority vote allows every voice to be heard and is generally viewed as fair. https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

Be aware that it may be difficult for some people to declare their opinion publicly. https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

Possibility C The moderator uses 6 thinking hats

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Six-thinking-hats-1455136

Possibility D The moderator asks a manager to decide

Leader’s choice is usually the fastest approach, so it is the most appropriate in a crisis.

https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

George, I’d like to hear your opinion as manager: What do you think we should do? Please be concrete.

Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-can-we-make-better-decisions-2058027

Question # 9 How will the moderator finish the meeting?

http://www.slideshare.net/frankcalberg/meeting-finish

Question # 10 How will the leader follow up on the meeting?

Write and distribute a 1 page meeting summary within 24 hours with information about who has chosen to do what.

https://hbr.org/2015/11/two-things-to-do-after-every-meeting

Follow up with people to find out what additional skills / competencies people need to do what they have said they will do.

https://hbr.org/2015/11/two-things-to-do-after-every-meeting