Meet Regularly with Staff
Creating a team structure is the foundation for communication with a steady flow of information and creating a collaborative and innovative operation. The leader must be able to lead the meetings in addition to conducting group and individual conversations. This requires the leader to become a facilitator using the listening skills described earlier as part of his or her skill set.
This is the story of a software company with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Seattle, Washington. An IT specialist in Atlanta had discussions on a broad array of projects over 6 years with his counterpart in Seattle. One day, the specialist in Atlanta asked his counterpart where in Seattle he lived. His counterpart said that he did not live in Seattle but lived in Atlanta. The specialist asked where his office was in Atlanta and was given an address on Peachtree Street. The specialist commented that he worked in the same building. When asked about location in the building, the counterpart said, “fourth floor”. The specialist with surprise explained he worked on the same floor. He then asked where on the floor the counterpart worked, and when told, got up from his desk and turned to the person in the next office. It was his counterpart!
A team structure consisting of a weekly leadership team meeting and leaders then meeting with their teams throughout the organization within 24–48 hours enhances communication organization wide and speeds up response time as well. Imagine the two people in this story having a leader who believed in teamwork and collaboration. These two professionals would have been together in frequent communication meetings and would have solved problems and developed new products and services faster and with higher quality.
The elements of a meeting structure consist of regularly scheduled meetings and having great meetings. Meetings can be scheduled weekly, biweekly, or monthly and should be on the same day of week, time of day, and same location. The amount of time allocated to meetings is based on meeting frequency. One hour should be allocated for weekly meetings, biweekly meetings, 2 hours, and 4 hours for monthly meetings.
The reason for longer times for less frequent meetings is simply a matter of needing more time to cover additional topics that accrue over time. A client held 2-hour management meetings once per month. Each month they would complain about their meetings running over. Their actual meeting times were nearly 4 hours. Finally, with a little coaching, they agreed more time was necessary and allocated 4 hours for their monthly meetings.
Several factors contribute to great meetings. An agenda, published 2 days before the meeting, a code of conduct guiding meeting behavior, a time keeper for keeping discussions focused and a record keeper for minutes facilitate smoother running meetings. In meetings, work groups review their balanced scorecards (aligned with operation’s strategy), collaborate to solve problems, make decisions together, innovate improvements with existing products and services, and create new products and services together.
The partners of a design and build company asked for training on conducting effective meetings. Upon training the partners and project managers, I had an opportunity to see them in action. One partner would offer an idea to the other partner who responded in turn to the other partner. It could have been a ping pong match. LOL. The project managers just sat there watching the partners talk to each other until the meeting concluded (Figure 5.1). After providing some just-in-time coaching, the partners began offering ideas and asking project managers for their ideas and solutions. A very difficult change for the partners but the change meant improvements in their small business.
Figure 5.1 Agenda example
MEETING LEADER_______________
TIME KEEPER______________
RECORD KEEPER_________________
GATE KEEPER______________
Meeting Leader facilitates meeting discussions and decision making.
Time Keeper informs leader and team when time is up on a topic. Leader asks group if they need more time.
Record Keeper updates and publishes the Action Plan.
Gate Keeper keeps members from changing topics and getting the meeting off track.
Code of Conduct
Great meetings that start and end on time and generate creative outcomes do not happen by themselves. One tool for creating productive meeting behaviors is the Code of Conduct. It also serves as a guide to ethical behavior. The Code of Conduct is a list of behaviors developed by the work group and is used to manage their meeting behavior and decisions. It is helpful to post the list on the wall in the meeting room for everyone to see during their meetings. Benefits to having a code of conduct include creating common expectations and understanding among group members, encouraging desirable behavior among members, enhancing the creativity of the group, and having a record of the guidelines. An example of a code of conduct is listed below and may be helpful as an example when leading a group through deciding on a list of meeting behaviors for themselves.
Code of Conduct Example
1. Start and End on Time
2. Discussions Stay in the Room
3. No Side Conversations
4. Turn off Electronic Devices during Meeting
5. Be Positive
6. Stay on Topic
7. Do What We Say We Will Do
8. Encourage Creativity
9. Be Frank and Honest
Typically, the Gatekeeper monitors the code during meetings. If people are having a side conversation, the Gatekeeper simply calls out the number, in this case, “number 3!” A client was using an industrial psychology group to help with an issue. We were having lunch one day and I was describing how the process worked. “So you are the one!”, they exclaimed. “We were in a meeting yesterday with a union group and everyone was yelling numbers at each other!” The group was self-monitoring and having a great meeting, they reported.
Action Plan
The action plan is the glue to making innovation happen and ideas being taken to design and implementation. It is a form of accountability that is used to recognize achievements and problem solve roadblocks to accomplishing goals. Many meetings I have attended end in frustration because as the meeting participants say, “Nothing ever gets done, we are just spinning our wheels.” The action plan fixes such problems and an example is illustrated in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Action plan example
The updated action plan is distributed at end of meeting by the record keeper and is included with agenda when published two days before next meeting.
Meeting Evaluation
Evaluate the meetings you are now attending. Identify what you like about them and what you would change. List your ideas and thoughts using Figure 5.3.
Figure 5.3 Meeting evaluation