Making Meetings Work!

1. Making Meetings Work! Facilitator Ann M. Delehant 1001 Hillsboro Cove Circle Webster, NY 14580 585-248-2587 ADelehant@aol.comwww.anndelehant.com September 20, 2011

2. Are you attending more meetings and getting less done? Are you tired of an “us vs. them” approach to problem solving? Are you discouraged about how decisions are made and problems are solved? Want to get something done rather than hosting/participating in more unproductive meetings? In this Action Lab, we will practice using practical, user-friendly tools to support a true collaborative process and to improve the quality of your meetings and your decision-making. Participants will practice using strategies and tools for writing agendas, preparing norms, writing minutes, assessing progress and making decisions. Making Meetings Work!

3. Explore five areas essential for ensuring successful meetings: planning a meeting, getting the group started, running the meeting, making decisions, and taking action. • Explore processes used to facilitate group work and make efficient use of time. • Practice several strategies for making meetings more effective. • Preview the work on decision making styles determining WHO gets to make WHAT decisions. • Reflect upon how you will use the information learned in this program. Participants will . . .

4. Supporteach other in the learning process Monitorprogress (individual/group) Askquestions Respectothers’ viewpoints Take time to reflect Norms

5. Making Meetings Work • Planning a Meeting • Getting the Group Started • Running the Meeting • Making Decisions • Taking Action

6. Planning a Meeting Decide Whether to Meet 2 Consider these strategies to determine whether meeting as a group is the best response to the issue at hand. Plan With a Few Colleagues 4 Help sustain participants’ involvement and dedication to the task over time by outlining a clear purpose for the group’s work. Select Group Members 8 Give careful thought as to the right peopleto be involved in the work of the team. Build the Agenda 16 Use a structured agenda to guide andfocus the group’s work and ensure ameeting’s success. Arrange the Facility 27 Set up the meeting room in advance in a way that will maximize the group’s productivity. Making Meetings Work

7. Topic: brief description of the issue/item to be discussed • Responsible Person: person who will lead the discussion of the topic • Desired Outcome: goal or purpose; a statement of intention; what must be accomplished • Timeline: amount of time allotted to the issue • Members’ Involvement: • (I) information item • (D) discussion/dialogue item • (A) action item or (DP) decision point p. 17 Key Elements of an Agenda

8. Build the Agenda p. 16 * Information/ Discussion/ Action

9. Boxed-Agenda Format p. 20 Agenda: Participants: Date/Time: ________________________ Location: ____________________ Chairperson: _______________________ Facilitator: ___________________ Recorder: _________________________ Time Keeper: ________________ Purpose of Team: I: Information D: Discussion A: Action/Decision Point + Clock Time

10. Task #1: Create an Agenda Draft an agenda for an upcoming meeting. Support one another and practice using the tool. (Work with a natural partner if available.) • State purpose of meeting • Desired results • Starting and ending times • Agenda items (information, discussion/dialogue, action, decision point) • Prioritize and set realistic time limits

11. Meeting Planning Format Use this format to suggest items for upcoming meetings. Idea Submitted By: Name: Role: Phone: Fax: *Information/Discussion/Action Others who should be present for the discussion: _____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ Use this space to inform the person who submitted the topic for consideration of the outcome. Let him/her know if the issue will be addressed on an upcoming agenda, if it was sent to subcommittee or if it was addressed in another way. Topic Disposition

12. 2. Getting the Group Started 35 Set the Norms 36 Ensure all group members understandthe expected norms of behavior. Establish Roles 45 Help groups function effectively by identifying which team members will fill certain responsibilities, including facilitator, timekeeper, recorder, scribe, process observer, and agenda builder. Build a Knowledge Base 76 Ensure that group members have the knowledge they need to support quality decision making. Making Meetings Work

13. Establish Roles, p. 45Task #2: Discuss your role. Identify and share highlights.

14. Developing NormsGround rules are the norms groups establish to guide their work and influence the behavior of members Time When will the meeting begin and end? the meeting begin and end on time? Communication Style/Active Listening What agreements will this group make regarding active listening? How will we discourage interruptions? What are our expectations about cell phone/laptop/PDA use? Confidentiality/Open Communication Will the meetings be open? Is there a need to maintain confidentiality? How will we share information after the meeting?

15. Developing Norms Decision Making How will we make decisions? Are we an advisory or a decision-making body? Will we reach decisions by consensus? What processes will we use? How will this group use data? Participation/Workload/Expectations What do we expect from members? What is our expectation about everyone’s participation? How will the group share the workload? “Who” is responsible for “what”? How will we recognize and accommodate style differences?

16. Developing Norms Power/Authority How will we work with power, authority, and influence of some members of the team? What will the relationships be between and among the members? Team Development How will this group learn together? Is there a commitment to continuous learning? Conflict Resolution How will we resolve our differences? Is it important for this group to discuss the acceptability of disagreement during the process?

17. Consider the following suggestions for preparing and utilizing ground rules. • Create them as a team. • Review them often. Revise them as needed. • Discuss them with new members. • Post them in the meeting room. • Assess your attention to them. • Confront behaviors which violate them (e.g., if two team members are having a side conversation, ask them to stop; if there is a lot of interrupting, remind team if the need to hear each idea; if people are consistently late, ask the team if it's necessary to review the time of the meeting, etc.) • Use them to build community in your group. • Trust the wisdom of the group to create and use the norms well. Developing Norms

18. 1. Start on time. End on time. 2. Conduct one piece of business at a time. 3. Participation is a right . . . and a responsibility. 4. Support . . . challenge. . . counter. Differences resolved constructively lead to creative problem solving. 5. Give others a chance to talk. Silence does not always mean agreement. 6. Communicate authentically; what a person says should reflect what he thinks as well as what he feels. 7. Conduct group business in front of the group. Conduct personal business outside of the meeting. 8. Develop conditions of respect, acceptance, trust, caring. 10. Develop alternative approaches to the solutions of a problem. SAMPLE Norms (Developed by a School Improvement Team)

19. Start on time. • Develop and review the agenda. • Conduct one piece of business at a time. • Participation is a right . . . and a responsibility. • Initiate ideas. • Support . . . challenge. . . counter. Differences resolved constructively lead to creative problem solving. • Give others a chance to talk. Silence does not always mean agreement. • Communicate authentically; what a person says should reflect what he thinks as well as what he feels. • Conduct group business in front of the group. • Conduct personal business outside of the meeting. • Develop conditions of respect, acceptance, trust, caring. • Develop alternative approaches to the solutions of a problem. • Test for readiness to make decisions. • Make the decision. • Assign follow-up actions and responsibilities. • End on time. SAMPLE Norms

20. Determine Operating Procedures Meetings How frequently will we meet? Where will we meet? When will the meetings begin and end? How long will the meetings last? Can meetings be extended or shortened? Who will decide? Who can cancel meetings? Is it acceptable to call emergency meetings? p. 40

21. Determine Operating Procedures Minutes What format will be used to present the minutes? To whom and how will minutes be distributed? What is the process for amending and approving minutes as public record?

22. Determine Operating Procedures Agenda Who prepares the agenda? How do participants/others influence the agenda? How are emergency items/new business/ surprises handled? How far ahead are agendas distributed? Who gets a copy of the agenda? When are minutes distributed?

23. Visitors • are observers welcome? what are the procedures? • who may address the team? • what is the role of alternates/substitutes on the team? Resource Support • to team, to sub-committees of the team • how are decisions regarding use of team resources/budgets made? • what information is available to all members? Determine Operating Procedures

24. Sample Norms Sample Operating Procedures TASK #3: Consider a team that you currently facilitate…what norms and operating procedures would help this group operate more effectively?

25. p. 65 Date: _________ Time: __________ Location: ___________________ Participants: ______________________________________________ Topic 1: Discussion summary: Decisions/assignments: Topic 2: Discussion summary: Decisions/assignments: Minutes Format Topics for Next Meeting: Next meeting date: Time: Location: Role: Recorder or Minutes Taker

26. 3. Running a Meeting 85 Use Introductions and Warm-Ups 86 Take time to make connections between and among participants. Organize Small Groups 89 Introduce strategies for reorganizing the large group into small groups to ensure that all members are active participants. Break Up the Time With Energizers 92 Keep the energy alive with strategies for breaks and transitions to improve the quality and productivity of long meetings and to keep spirits upbeat. Ask Questions 95 Clarify, confront, and prod group members to keep the focus and achieve the goal. Manage the Challenges 96 Prepare for typical challenges and develop a process to count on when the going gets tough. Close the Meeting Well 104 Acknowledge the team’s work and review decisions and assignments for a smooth ending. Making Meetings Work

27. Stand up, start moving, when the music stops…. • Share ideas for introductions • Share ideas for group warm-ups • Share ideas for icebreakers • Share ideas for breaking groups into smaller work groups Other ideas can be found in an Internet search with key words such as introductions, tools, trainers, and icebreakers. Other excellent resources are Games Trainers Play (1980) and Even More Games Trainers Play (1994), by Edward E. Scannell and John W. Newstrom. Use Icebreakers, Introductions and Warm-Ups p. 86 TASK #4: Think about one of your teams. What ideas could you use with one of your teams?

28. What Challenges Do You Face on YOUR Teams?

29. Comments are made that indicate a lack of understanding of an agenda item. • Comments are straying from the agenda item under discussion. • Issues or topics are being raised that are not on the agenda. • Agenda time allotments are not being followed. • Side conversations are taking place among group members. p. 100 WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN….There are Challenges in the Meeting

30. p. 101 • The group is restless, disinterested, distracted, and bored. • The discussion is circumventing the genuine underlying concern or point. • Group members are not expressing what they really think or want. • Some individuals are not contributing to the meeting. • The group is being dominated by one or more people. • The group is not thinking win-win. Challenges in the Meeting

31. Take care of leftovers. • Review action items. Review assignments. • Highlight items for the next session. • Debrief. • Assess the work of the team periodically. • Choose an assessment tools to check in on an occasional basis. • Use the data to make decisions to improve your team process. p. 105 Closing a Meeting Successfully

32. TEAM EFFECTIVENESS INVENTORY • (based upon the work of Frank Burns and Robert L. Gragg) • Team: Date: • Circle one number for each statement. Review the scale. • 1 2 3 4 • Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree • I speak frankly about the things that are 1 2 3 4 • uppermost in my mind. • The other members of this team speak frankly 1 2 3 4 • about the things that have been uppermost in their minds. • 3. I speak directly and to the point. 1 2 3 4 • 4. The other members of this team speak directly 1 2 3 4 • and to the point. • 5. I listen carefully to the member of this team. 1 2 3 4 • I pay special attention to those who have • expressed strong agreement or disagreement.

33. 6. The other members of this team listen carefully 1 2 3 4 to me and to each other. They pay special attention to strongly expressed views. 7. I ask for and receive constructive feedback 1 2 3 4 regarding my influence on the team. 8. I provide constructive feedback to those who have 1 2 3 4 requested it - to help them keep track of their influence on me and the other team members. 9. Decisions regarding our team's operating procedures 1 2 3 4 have been flexible, and they change rapidly whenever more useful structures or procedures are discovered. 10. Everyone on the team has been helping the team 1 2 3 4 achieve its mission. TEAM EFFECTIVENESS INVENTORY

34. Action Planning

35. Decision Making Styles Who Gets to Make WHAT Decisions A for Approve R for Responsible C for Consult I for Inform O for Out of the Loop p. 131 • Autocratic • Consultive • Majority Rules/Percentage Vote • Consensus • Will of the Group PREVIEW: WHO Gets to Make WHAT Decisions

36. A for Approve: Who needs to approve the decision? (There may be more than one A.) R for Responsible: Who is responsible for making and implementing the decision? C for Consult: Who needs to be consulted before the decision is made? I for Inform: Who needs to be told about the decision? O for Out of the Loop: These are individuals or groups who do not need to be consulted. p. 131 WHO Gets to Make WHAT Decisions

37. Task #3: DecisionMakingMatrixIdentify decisions that need to be made. Discuss “Who” gets to make “What” decisions?)

38. Application • 3 strategies you recall • 2 ideas or strategies you will use • 1 insight