Pitfalls during project team meetings
- What could be worse than an ineffective meeting?
- The only thing that can be worse is an ineffective meeting of three hours in length, where each of the participants wonders why he is in this room among these people.
Articles and manuals on the topic "How to hold a meeting" written a great many. It would seem that the topic has exhausted itself, because there is a clear guide: what is “good” and what is “bad.” In that case, why are they not working and the companies are still spending huge sums on the “empty” conversations of their employees ?!
')
For ten years of regularly organizing meetings as a project manager and facilitator (through trial and error), I have a list of pitfalls that can lead to a complete fiasco. I do not claim the truth, because all companies and teams are different. Much depends on the corporate culture and the stage of development of the company, but there are moments that will be relevant for any team. Below I will focus on the most important:
- the validity of the meeting;
- time and duration of the meeting.
A single universal recipe, when it is necessary to hold a meeting, and when not - does not exist. The obvious reason: if the quorum is not met (the minimum number of participants) - the meeting is postponed. But the list of non-obvious reasons can be quite impressive, so the organizer needs to develop the ability to read between the lines.
The purpose of the meeting is not the process of the meeting itself, but the obtaining of the result. If the result is easier to get without holding a meeting, then you need to use this opportunity.
For example, not all employees feel comfortable at meetings. Many are not ready to speak and voice their opinion if it is different from the majority opinion. And in general, every person has a main channel for perceiving information : the method of communication through which he most willingly communicates. One person responds most quickly to e-mail, for the second it is easier to verify the electronic document at his workplace in a familiar environment, the third best perceives the information in printed form, and the fourth one is ready to communicate only personally, because he is sorry for the time “messing with papers” and easier explain in words.
Therefore, if you are not the first time working with experts and you know that they have fundamentally different channels of information perception, do not schedule a meeting . Conduct individual coordination with each of them. In this case, your time may be spent more, but the quality of the overall result will be higher. Since upon individual coordination each expert scrupulously delves into the essence of the question - there is no effect of “collective responsibility” (when everyone thinks mentally “I would do it differently, but once everyone decided to do so, I will not object”).
Each meeting is important to evaluate the ratio "price-quality". Unfortunately, many project managers are chasing the implementation of the plan, it is important for them at any cost to put a tick "Made" in front of the item "To meet". Yes, a formal meeting can be held, but with a quality of 20%. At the same time, if you move it the next day, the quality can be increased up to 90% (even taking into account the shift of the task, which was on the critical path).
I do not urge to violate the deadlines. I urge to analyze the situation in the working group and, based on various factors, to make a decision in terms of benefits for the common cause: to hold or cancel a meeting. Otherwise, the need for a facilitator disappears, because technically you can create a meeting in the calendar and issue a “Minutes of the meeting” any secretary / assistant.
Another of the most common signals for meeting relocation : the emergence of force majeure on a project with a higher priority than yours. For example, if in the morning there was a planning meeting / meeting on the project with priority No. 1 (where employees from your team were involved) and urgent tasks were issued, then your meeting on the project with priority No. 5 was better postponed. Employees, in any case, will be “absent”: physically be in the negotiation room, but mentally reflect on new and urgent tasks that are “under control” of the Director.
When you have determined that it is necessary to hold a meeting, it is important to choose a time that is convenient for both the participants of the working group and the organizer (you). If there are all “owls” in the group, and the only free time in the meeting room is at 8.30 am, then the effect will be minimal. A similar situation at intervals from 12.00 to 14.00: it will be difficult for employees to concentrate at lunchtime. The last hour of the working day is also better not to occupy. Someone at this hour sums up the current day and plans the next day, and someone already has thoughts in family matters. The danger of such meetings is that employees are ready to agree with any option / resolution of the issue in order to quickly get rid. But at the same time it is likely that after some time they themselves will propose to reconsider this issue.
When planning time, it is necessary to take into account that 30 minutes - 1 hour before the start of the meeting and the same amount should be free in the organizer's calendar. This time will be required to prepare a meeting room (check flipchart + markers, projector performance, upload your files), remind the meeting participants, print materials etc.)
From my practice, the optimal interval for holding meetings from 15.00 to 16.30, when everyone already woke up, dealt with the “routine”, decided important and urgent issues, had lunch, overcame a nap and are ready for brainstorming.
The worst thing you can think of for the organizer (and for the participant) is two meetings in a row at different sites with different teams. This must be avoided at all costs. Between meetings there should be a minimum interval of 30 minutes. Otherwise, the probability of getting into an awkward position is great, when the meeting with team No. 1 has been delayed (or you yourself would like to extend it to bring the discussion to a logical conclusion), while team No. 2 has to wait for the organizer. Each such case undermines the credit of trust, which is very difficult to restore later.
For active projects, it is better to schedule regular meetings and immediately book your time and team time for them. If there is no need for a meeting, you can easily cancel it. It is much more difficult to coordinate the time and place for a sudden meeting, which would be comfortable for all participants. The most productive meeting duration , in my experience, is no more than one hour, but active work is about 40-45 minutes, and 15-20 are organizational moments and fixing the results.
I saw such agendas in which 8-10 questions were written (with a total duration of three to four hours), two of which are “minimum program”, and the rest in case there is time. In my opinion, it is not necessary to worry that there are few issues on the agenda and to record additional minor tasks in order to give more significance to the event. If you manage to discuss, make a decision and finish the meeting ahead of time - this will only please all participants, because they will have time for a cup of coffee or a business call. For many top managers, such random “windows” in 10-15 minutes is just a salvation in a tight schedule.
Obviously, if important issues that need to be addressed are more than one hour, then they need to be divided into two meetings. But often this is not possible. Therefore, one of the solutions is to think over in advance and take into account the inconveniences that may arise. At the beginning of the meeting to discuss organizational issues with the team - the agenda and the break, as well as prepare the water.
When already in the course of the meeting you realize that you are beginning to get out of the schedule, in this case it is important to assess the situation and the level of energy. When the discussion is lively and efficiently, then it makes sense to consciously allocate more time to the question, but bring the discussion to a logical point. But if the arguments and energy have already dried up and the discussion has "looped", then it is better to end the discussion and record the outcome of the meeting.
Certainly, aerobatics for any organizer - when the participants at the end of the meeting say: well, what good are we, how well we did it in the allotted time. This means that they did not realize that someone was clearly watching the time, controlled the conversation, did not allow thoughts to “spread out”, put out the hotbeds of “flashing dialogues” parallel to the main speaker — all this went unnoticed and was attributed to “rare luck” .
At the end of a couple of words about the venue of the meeting. It is important to hold meetings of working groups in isolation from workplaces. First of all, nobody canceled business ethics. Even a group of three people in the open space will be guaranteed to interfere with colleagues. And, secondly, the participants in the meeting at their workplaces will be distracted by incoming mail and landline phone calls. Therefore, it is important to book in advance the most comfortable negotiation room available: spacious, with windows and air conditioning.
Summarizing the above, in order to hold an effective meeting you need at least to know: the channels of information perception from the team, their schedules (time of start / end of the working day, lunch break) and comfortable time for meeting (morning / afternoon / evening). You do not need to spare time and effort to build partnerships (not to be confused with friendly ones) with all the people with whom you will work in a team.
For example, a personal call / letter with the phrase “Ivan Ivanovich, yes, I know that you usually have everything scheduled in the morning to the minute, but on Thursday as an exception it is very important to meet in the morning for 30 minutes. Let's think about how to embed a half-hour meeting in your calendar with the least losses? ”Will have more chances to confirm the meeting with an extremely busy top manager than just an electronic invitation to the meeting. Ivan Ivanovich will know that, firstly, you are aware that he is busy in the mornings and did not disturb him by trifles, and, secondly, such a request is an exception.
A good organizer from a mediocre one can be distinguished just by the credibility of his team’s trust. This is an implicit but very truthful marker: if a team trusts you with its most valuable and irreplaceable resource - Time - and allows you to lead, then you are on the right track.
The main thing is not to forget:
- The only thing that can be worse is an ineffective meeting of three hours in length, where each of the participants wonders why he is in this room among these people.
Articles and manuals on the topic "How to hold a meeting" written a great many. It would seem that the topic has exhausted itself, because there is a clear guide: what is “good” and what is “bad.” In that case, why are they not working and the companies are still spending huge sums on the “empty” conversations of their employees ?!
')
For ten years of regularly organizing meetings as a project manager and facilitator (through trial and error), I have a list of pitfalls that can lead to a complete fiasco. I do not claim the truth, because all companies and teams are different. Much depends on the corporate culture and the stage of development of the company, but there are moments that will be relevant for any team. Below I will focus on the most important:
- the validity of the meeting;
- time and duration of the meeting.
A single universal recipe, when it is necessary to hold a meeting, and when not - does not exist. The obvious reason: if the quorum is not met (the minimum number of participants) - the meeting is postponed. But the list of non-obvious reasons can be quite impressive, so the organizer needs to develop the ability to read between the lines.
The purpose of the meeting is not the process of the meeting itself, but the obtaining of the result. If the result is easier to get without holding a meeting, then you need to use this opportunity.
For example, not all employees feel comfortable at meetings. Many are not ready to speak and voice their opinion if it is different from the majority opinion. And in general, every person has a main channel for perceiving information : the method of communication through which he most willingly communicates. One person responds most quickly to e-mail, for the second it is easier to verify the electronic document at his workplace in a familiar environment, the third best perceives the information in printed form, and the fourth one is ready to communicate only personally, because he is sorry for the time “messing with papers” and easier explain in words.
Therefore, if you are not the first time working with experts and you know that they have fundamentally different channels of information perception, do not schedule a meeting . Conduct individual coordination with each of them. In this case, your time may be spent more, but the quality of the overall result will be higher. Since upon individual coordination each expert scrupulously delves into the essence of the question - there is no effect of “collective responsibility” (when everyone thinks mentally “I would do it differently, but once everyone decided to do so, I will not object”).
Each meeting is important to evaluate the ratio "price-quality". Unfortunately, many project managers are chasing the implementation of the plan, it is important for them at any cost to put a tick "Made" in front of the item "To meet". Yes, a formal meeting can be held, but with a quality of 20%. At the same time, if you move it the next day, the quality can be increased up to 90% (even taking into account the shift of the task, which was on the critical path).
I do not urge to violate the deadlines. I urge to analyze the situation in the working group and, based on various factors, to make a decision in terms of benefits for the common cause: to hold or cancel a meeting. Otherwise, the need for a facilitator disappears, because technically you can create a meeting in the calendar and issue a “Minutes of the meeting” any secretary / assistant.
Another of the most common signals for meeting relocation : the emergence of force majeure on a project with a higher priority than yours. For example, if in the morning there was a planning meeting / meeting on the project with priority No. 1 (where employees from your team were involved) and urgent tasks were issued, then your meeting on the project with priority No. 5 was better postponed. Employees, in any case, will be “absent”: physically be in the negotiation room, but mentally reflect on new and urgent tasks that are “under control” of the Director.
When you have determined that it is necessary to hold a meeting, it is important to choose a time that is convenient for both the participants of the working group and the organizer (you). If there are all “owls” in the group, and the only free time in the meeting room is at 8.30 am, then the effect will be minimal. A similar situation at intervals from 12.00 to 14.00: it will be difficult for employees to concentrate at lunchtime. The last hour of the working day is also better not to occupy. Someone at this hour sums up the current day and plans the next day, and someone already has thoughts in family matters. The danger of such meetings is that employees are ready to agree with any option / resolution of the issue in order to quickly get rid. But at the same time it is likely that after some time they themselves will propose to reconsider this issue.
When planning time, it is necessary to take into account that 30 minutes - 1 hour before the start of the meeting and the same amount should be free in the organizer's calendar. This time will be required to prepare a meeting room (check flipchart + markers, projector performance, upload your files), remind the meeting participants, print materials etc.)
From my practice, the optimal interval for holding meetings from 15.00 to 16.30, when everyone already woke up, dealt with the “routine”, decided important and urgent issues, had lunch, overcame a nap and are ready for brainstorming.
The worst thing you can think of for the organizer (and for the participant) is two meetings in a row at different sites with different teams. This must be avoided at all costs. Between meetings there should be a minimum interval of 30 minutes. Otherwise, the probability of getting into an awkward position is great, when the meeting with team No. 1 has been delayed (or you yourself would like to extend it to bring the discussion to a logical conclusion), while team No. 2 has to wait for the organizer. Each such case undermines the credit of trust, which is very difficult to restore later.
For active projects, it is better to schedule regular meetings and immediately book your time and team time for them. If there is no need for a meeting, you can easily cancel it. It is much more difficult to coordinate the time and place for a sudden meeting, which would be comfortable for all participants. The most productive meeting duration , in my experience, is no more than one hour, but active work is about 40-45 minutes, and 15-20 are organizational moments and fixing the results.
I saw such agendas in which 8-10 questions were written (with a total duration of three to four hours), two of which are “minimum program”, and the rest in case there is time. In my opinion, it is not necessary to worry that there are few issues on the agenda and to record additional minor tasks in order to give more significance to the event. If you manage to discuss, make a decision and finish the meeting ahead of time - this will only please all participants, because they will have time for a cup of coffee or a business call. For many top managers, such random “windows” in 10-15 minutes is just a salvation in a tight schedule.
Obviously, if important issues that need to be addressed are more than one hour, then they need to be divided into two meetings. But often this is not possible. Therefore, one of the solutions is to think over in advance and take into account the inconveniences that may arise. At the beginning of the meeting to discuss organizational issues with the team - the agenda and the break, as well as prepare the water.
When already in the course of the meeting you realize that you are beginning to get out of the schedule, in this case it is important to assess the situation and the level of energy. When the discussion is lively and efficiently, then it makes sense to consciously allocate more time to the question, but bring the discussion to a logical point. But if the arguments and energy have already dried up and the discussion has "looped", then it is better to end the discussion and record the outcome of the meeting.
Certainly, aerobatics for any organizer - when the participants at the end of the meeting say: well, what good are we, how well we did it in the allotted time. This means that they did not realize that someone was clearly watching the time, controlled the conversation, did not allow thoughts to “spread out”, put out the hotbeds of “flashing dialogues” parallel to the main speaker — all this went unnoticed and was attributed to “rare luck” .
At the end of a couple of words about the venue of the meeting. It is important to hold meetings of working groups in isolation from workplaces. First of all, nobody canceled business ethics. Even a group of three people in the open space will be guaranteed to interfere with colleagues. And, secondly, the participants in the meeting at their workplaces will be distracted by incoming mail and landline phone calls. Therefore, it is important to book in advance the most comfortable negotiation room available: spacious, with windows and air conditioning.
Summarizing the above, in order to hold an effective meeting you need at least to know: the channels of information perception from the team, their schedules (time of start / end of the working day, lunch break) and comfortable time for meeting (morning / afternoon / evening). You do not need to spare time and effort to build partnerships (not to be confused with friendly ones) with all the people with whom you will work in a team.
For example, a personal call / letter with the phrase “Ivan Ivanovich, yes, I know that you usually have everything scheduled in the morning to the minute, but on Thursday as an exception it is very important to meet in the morning for 30 minutes. Let's think about how to embed a half-hour meeting in your calendar with the least losses? ”Will have more chances to confirm the meeting with an extremely busy top manager than just an electronic invitation to the meeting. Ivan Ivanovich will know that, firstly, you are aware that he is busy in the mornings and did not disturb him by trifles, and, secondly, such a request is an exception.
A good organizer from a mediocre one can be distinguished just by the credibility of his team’s trust. This is an implicit but very truthful marker: if a team trusts you with its most valuable and irreplaceable resource - Time - and allows you to lead, then you are on the right track.
The main thing is not to forget:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/327882/
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