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Anthony asked for help with meeting facilitation. In a former life I was
a consultant on team development (stop rolling your eyes, people: none
of those stupid "teambuilding exercises" were involved!). I researched,
wrote and delivered frequently a meeting facilitation course. The
basics, off the top of my head:
* Prepare, distribute in advance, and stick to an agenda. If people
bring up off-topic subjects, add them to a "New Issues" portion near the
end of the meeting. Build their trust by remembering to raise each issue
and ask the team whether it wants to address that issue (in the current
or a future meeting).
* Create a set of meeting rules, and discuss them at the start of the
first meeting with the request that people try them out that meeting.
Make a discussion/revision of those rules the first item of the second
meeting so people feel control over the process. Each rule should
address a "time-wasting" behavior. Rule examples:
--Silence equals consensus (the team has the right to assume you agree
if you don't speak up).
--Everyone is equal (no pulling of rank; questions from nonexperts can
stimulate creativity; etc.).
--One topic at a time (no backtracking unless you remember something
critical, like a previous decision violates company policy; no jumping
ahead; no off-agenda topic unless the team agrees to discuss them).
--Cell phones off, and no texting or e-mailing (the team deserves your
full attention; those activities are disrespectful, as they suggest your
recipients are more important than the team).
* No decision is considered "made" without an action item consisting of
an action, a due date, and a responsible party. Each agenda should have
an "Old Issues" section in which all action items that have come due
since the last meeting are discussed by the assignees.
* Detailed meeting minutes are not required, but notes recording action
items and decisions are vital and should be reviewed at the start of the
subsequent meeting.
* Consensus does not mean unanimous support: the goal is to reach a
decision people are willing to help with even if they think the team is
making a mistake. Tell them they build credibility either way--if they
were right, the team will pay more attention next time, and if they were
wrong, it will respect them for their teamwork.
Hope this helps,
Jim
Jim Morgan
Senior Technical Writer (Consultant)
Renton QA Team
JDSU
JDSU is a trademark of JDS Uniphase Corporation
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