 |
Agendas Make Meetings Productive
Having an agenda template that works well for you, week in, week out, creates a consistency which gets your people bought into the process. Delivering an efficiency and effectiveness which makes the most of the valuable time you have together. Key points to note are:- Circulate
Share your agenda in good time, well before your meeting (with reading material for preview). This gives time for review, preparation and challenge.
RolesIn a meeting there are various roles to be taken on from the start. Chair, notetaker, facilitator, reviewer and other, more specific roles. These should be clearly stated on the agenda in advance of the meeting.
Items for Discussion
Items on your agenda need to be selected carefully and only be relevant for the grouping of people who get together. Time is precious, so make sure that when together, only things which need everyone's input are given time.
Set TimingsGet clear on your agenda just how long the meeting will last and how long will be devoted to individual items on it. This gives clear indications of what will happen in meeting.
Ground Rules
Within your agenda will be some rules of how the meeting process will work. It is important to set standards of behaviour which eveyone signs up to.
AOB
Often included in agendas, this item is one that really should not be there. Good preplanning before the agenda goes out should mean that all items are included at that point and, where dispute occurs, the
meeting lead takes a decision. AOB can easily take a meeting off the rails and lead to missing time agreements.
Action Points
As the meeting progresses there will be action points that individual meeting members will be accountable for. By having a spot on the agenda for a quick review, prior to circulating these in writing, everyone will be clear on what is expected of them.
Parked Items
Sometimes during a meeting, items arise which whilst important, are outside the scope of that particular meeting. So by both 'parking' them during the meeting, thus validating their importance, and having a specific point to check the next steps for them is clear, they do recieve attention. This then allows the meeting purpose to be maintained.
Next MeetingBy ensuring the date of the next meeting is an agenda item, this serves three purposesIt indicates to the meeting attendees follow up meetings
It gives an indication of when agreed action points from the meeting are likely to be required
Finally, it reminds the person responsible for the agenda to agree a clear date during the meeting - if not, it is likely to slip.
Meeting Review
Your agenda should also be an ongoing learning tool. As such, and to ensure your meetings truly make a difference, there is a real benefit in reviewing how things have worked in the meetng - for all participants. Agenda
it.
Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com/managing_meetings.html
(Note to editors. This article may be edited for use in your publication or newsletter as long as a live link to the website is included)
...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...
|
More resources:
|
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Plans & Goal Setting - Kicking winning Goals
Kicking Winning Business Goals
The competition for business is hotting up. The advances in new technology, ease of communication, and increasing expectations from customers have combined to make the marketplace more competitive than ever.
The Leadership Alignment Model
Some time ago we had the privilege of working with a major UK government department to help them redefine leadership and to reappraise how they develop and encourage leaders. Faced with considerable challenges by the environment in which they operate and by their political masters, this department has decided that leadership is one of the keys to the achievement of the vision laid down by its chief.
Dont Take New Hires for Granted
Hiring good people is only half the battle. The other half is keeping them, especially in a relatively strong economy where quality people are difficult to attract.
Using, Choosing, and Using an educational consultant
IntroductionThe aim of this document is to provide advice and guidance in choosing a consultant in the field of education. You may be the headteacher or principal of a school or college, an officer in a local education authority (LEA) or school district, or the director of a private company wishing to undertake work in the educational sector.
Why Training Fails
Sometimes when I conduct my workshop on Effective Meetings, one of the
participants will ask, "Where's my boss?"And I say, "Your boss claimed to be an expert on holding effective meetings."Then the person laughs.
10 Resolutions For The New Year!!
Each year many people create a list of resolutions designed to help them improve their lives. As Business Leaders, we also need to take a look at our business lives and find ways to improve ourselves.
Magnificent Meetings - 5 Tips for Success
Your impact at meetings will determine in a big way how well you
do in your career. In other words you will rise as high as your
communication skills will let you.
A Comprehensive Sarbanes Oxley Act Summary
Individual and corporate security stand in the center of the Sarbanes Oxley Act summary, as they are the areas that suffered most changes. New criminal and civil penalties were announced for security violations and a new system of certification of internal audit efforts was set.
Problem-Solving Success Tip: Whatever You Do, Do It on Purpose
Decision-making shows up throughout the problem-solving process. The decisions may be difficult or unpopular, so it's very tempting to ignore some of them.
Top Ten Tips for Outstanding Customer Service
Remember the 80:20 rule? You may not get everything perfectly right, but getting
most right will be much, much better than the majority of your competition. These
Top Ten Tips for Customer Service will get you well on the way.
The Communications Myth
Living in the 21st Century is truly marvelous, isn't it? We live in a world of instant communications where everything we need to know is right at our fingertips. The moment anything of significance occurs it is instantly transferred around the globe making us the most well informed generation in the history of the world.
Business Relationship Germs
In management seminars I often compare debt to an infection. A reasonable amount of debt will not kill a business, but too much debt will.
Top 10 Things NOT To Tell Angel and VC Investors
I am not writing this to create a list of things not to say so people can hide the facts or in any way mislead potential investors. On the contrary I personally believe you must be 100% upfront with any potential investors, and even volunteer some weaknesses to be credible.
Offshore This! (Outsourcing Tech Support Overseas)
So I call my telephone company and someone picks up 15,000 miles away. I asked the rep where she's from.
Does Your Management Style Remind People Of Something They Read In Dilbert?
With thanks to Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian who does the "You might be a redneck series of jokes.If you really believe people in your group are lucky to have a job, you might be a jerk.
9 Strategies for Writing Accounts Payable Procedures
The Cash to Cash Cycle
Part Four of SeriesNext: Complete Cash to Cash CycleThe white flag is just a nose away?toward the Million dollar prize in cash savings for your business?So far, in Inventory and Accounts Receivable, we've found $250,000 each in cash savings. Then we found another 250K in Sales and Marketing.
How to Manage Your Most Valuable Assets - People?
People management and leadership has become a major topic of conversation in today's market place and have assumed mythical qualities. Managing you people is not that difficult if you are willing to invest one thing in their development; YOU.
Is Your Brain Getting the Memory Full Message? 5 Ways to Free Up Room on Your Brains Hard Drive
Lynn was tapped to head up the project team for a major company restructuring. She began her first team meeting by delegating steps and due dates to the various department heads.
Meetings and Road Trips
Managing a meeting is like setting off on a long car trip with friends or
family. You need to plan your route, pay attention to the rules of the
road, consider what will keep your passengers engaged and occupied,
and always remember you have to get back home at the end.
The Measurement of Manager Training
THE MEASUREMENT OF TRAINING: Evaluation is one of the most valuable - and challenging - aspects of a training manager's job. A well-planned and on-target evaluation process can be the tool which separates a superlative training department from a merely satisfactory one.
|
Info-Zone.eu » Management
