Roadmap to Successful Meetings

Tips for getting the most out of your meetings

Don’t waste

my time!

Technical Details

• Call-in number is (415) 655-0051 and access code is 412-216-979.

• To submit live questions, click on the “Questions” panel, type your question, and click “Send”

• Presentation materials and audio will be posted at www.cacollegepathways.org

Today’s Panel

Michelle Magee, Harder and Company

Loraine Park, Harder and Company

Karrie Tam, Harder and Company

Harder+Company

Harder+Company Community Research is a comprehensive social research and planning firm with offices in San Francisco, Davis, San Diego, and Los Angeles, California. Our mission is to help our clients achieve social impact through quality research, strategy, and organizational development services.

www.harderco.com

About

First webinar of a two-part series from the John Burton Foundation California College Pathway’s project to strengthen your network

Today we will focus on getting the most out of your meetings

Essential to creating and achieving collaboration and sustainability for programs and networks

Purpose & Overview

By the end of the webinar, you will…

Understand how to effectively plan meetings

Learn how to establish meeting goals and develop an agenda

Understand team behavior and group dynamics

Have a ready-to-use guide and tools to put into practice

Maximize Your Meetings

Set the Direction:Your GPS to Effective Meetings

Meeting Pitfalls

Wasting time with ambiguous discussions

Creating frustration

Boring the team members

Discouraging participation

No results

Pitfalls & Fixes

Meeting Fixes

Clear meeting purpose

Content clarity on what should be discussed, decided, and accomplished

Meeting fits in to long-term goals

Group input

Meeting Phases

Phase 1:

Before the

Meeting

Phase 2:

During the

Meeting

Phase 3: After

the Meeting

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.” – Yogi Berra

Determine meeting goals

Create an agenda

Decide who should attend and gather contact info

Ensure proper room arrangements have been made

Send out the agenda and logistics in advance

Collect RSVPs and follow up

Prepare sign-in sheets (if necessary)

Phase 1: Before the Meeting

Four Core Components Meeting Purpose: What is the purpose of the meeting (there

may be more than one)? What are you hoping to achieve?

Content Goals: What do you think is important for people to know, be exposed to, and/or have discussed by the end of the meeting? What decisions have to be made by the end of the meeting? What should be accomplished?

Long-Term Goals: How do the meeting goals fit into the longer-term goals, mission, vision, etc. of the team?

Group Input: What input do you expect from attendees at the meeting? Will they be making a final decision, beginning a conversation to lead to a later decision, planning joint activities or serving an advisory role and providing feedback? Do you primarily need input in the form of advice or feedback or are you expecting participants to walk away with assignments and commitments to future action?

Establishing Meeting Goals

1phase

Essential Types of Agenda Items

Developing an Agenda

1phase

discussion items

decision items

information items

Information that you need to share with team members (e.g. results from a study or article, updates on activities)

Topics that are up for discussion, feedback and/or development by team members

Items that require agreement among the team or decisions about how to move forward with collective goals

Review & Ask Yourself

1phase

Does the meeting flow?

Arrange your agenda items in a logical manner

Ensure smooth transitions

Allocate time for each itemAre the agenda items a good fit for your group?

Activities are consistent with the group’s process development

Activities that generate heavy conflict or personal vulnerability are not first on the agenda

Sample Agenda1phase

Meeting Planner Checklist

1phase

Start and end on time

Review the agenda

Establish ground rules (if necessary)

Make introductions and distribute sign-in sheets

Designate roles

Watch the time

Confirm key agreements and major decisions points

Phase 2: During the

Meeting

Tips for Keeping on Track

2phase

Start and end on time

Check the duration of each agenda item

Negotiate for more time if necessary

Discuss ground rules for setting expectations

Ground Rules2phase

Ground rules are standards of meeting behavior and help the group operate successfully. They support meeting productivity, creativity, and participation and help keep the meeting on track to accomplish its goals. When should you use ground rules?

- If you expect conflict

- If the group is under a time constraint

- If there is a history of unproductive behavior

- If a group is working together for the first time

Ground Rules2phase

introduce idea

draft rules

take suggestions

get agreeme

nt

refer to rules

Establishing Ground Rules:

Defining Key Roles

facilitator

participant

note taker

time keeper

2phase

Pros and Cons of Rotating the Facilitator Role

facilitator

2phase

PROS Allows group members to

practice their facilitation skills

Draws out quiet group members

Builds team cohesion and collaboration

CONS Dilutes connection between

one meeting to another

Requires additional planning around selecting and prepping the facilitator

Requires group members to adjust to different facilitator styles and comfort levels

Conference Call Tips & Tricks

less than2hours

For facilitators:

For participants:

2phase

use file sharing

create a backup plan

brainstorm before

meeting

identify self when

speaking

respond in sequence

don’t put call on hold

Recap major decision points and timeline for next steps

Wrap-up the meeting minutes and distribute to attendees

Collect evaluation feedback forms, if appropriate

Follow-up with participants

Phase 3: After the Meeting

Keeping up the Momentum

Recap major decision points from the group discussion

Finalize a timeline for next steps and action items

Wrap-up the meeting minutes

Distribute minutes to attendees

Make follow-up calls, send out follow-up correspondence, and/or take follow-up actions.

The Glue to Keeping People Connected and Moving the Work!

3phase

Meeting Minutes Template

3phase

The Journey:Understanding Team Behavior

Stages of Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Team Behavior

divergent

create choices

gro

an

zo

ne

convergent

make choices

Types of Divergent Thinking Generating alternatives Free-for-all open discussion Gathering diverse points of

view Unpacking the logic of a

problem

Types of Convergent Thinking Evaluating alternatives Summarizing key points Sorting ideas into

categories Arriving at general

conclusions

Divergent Thinking

Examples of Team Behavior

Convergent Thinking

Divergent

Brainstorm

Use active listening

Draw out opinions

Support full participation

Tips for Each StageConvergent

Generate a list of options

Agree on criteria

Vote

Summarize and rate areas of agreement

Groan Zone

Use ground rules

Accept, deal, defer

Take a break

Use body language

Stop the meeting

Use encouraging language

Ready-to-Use Guide & Tools

Next Month’s Webinar

Going Deeper: Building Your

Facilitation Skills

Wednesday, February 11th from

10 – 11:30am

Stay Tuned

Questions?