When should you introduce and discuss ground rules? Here we recommend that you do it as soon as possible. A good time to do this may be right after opening the meeting and explaining the purpose of the meeting. If you do it right after the goal, you can emphasize the importance of ground rules with the content of the meeting. Another rule of thumb your team should follow is to show up for all meetings on time. Whether you`re signing up for virtual meeting software like Fellow to join a remote meeting or showing up in the conference room a few minutes early, it`s important that everyone arrives on time so that the start of the meeting isn`t delayed while waiting for attendees. As in Las Vegas, what happens in meetings should stay in the meeting. We don`t abide by that rule because we want to discuss people`s dark secrets or talk badly about people who aren`t in the session, but because we want people to talk openly about what they think about the issues on the table. If people worry that something they say will come back to haunt them, they will be less likely to share. Keep things respectful, but agree that what is said will not leave the room without everyone`s consent. This is just one of the many ways we can help you organize effective meetings and collaboration sessions. Sometimes people are reluctant to speak up in meetings. As a facilitator, I do everything I can to break down barriers so people can express themselves, and I use techniques like silent brainstorming to accommodate different thinking styles. In return, I ask that people have the courage to say what they have to say during the meeting.
I want to avoid situations where the group makes a decision and the next day someone makes a reservation that they have respected and manages the hard work we put into reaching an agreement. Make it a habit to schedule meetings that end at 8 a.m. or 50 a.m. and make sure you finish on time. You`ll be doing a big favor to all participants who have another meeting (or phone call) immediately after yours. Sometimes people who are not active extend the enthusiasm of others in meetings who want to contribute. Therefore, active participation in the group session is just as important as participation in the conference. Bad meetings are usually the result of a lack of focus, agenda, or structure. And one of the best tools you can use to make sure you stay productive is to agree on a set of meeting rules. Here are eight that I use regularly.
If you want your team to be effective, you need to follow some ground rules – and you need to agree on how to use them. Many teams that have ground rules don`t use them regularly. But having rules that you consistently enforce can greatly improve the way your team solves problems and makes decisions. Here are the five main ground rules we use to get the most out of our meetings. Other ground rules are abstract, such as “treat everyone with respect” and “be constructive.” These rules focus on a desirable outcome, but do not identify specific behaviors that are respectful or constructive. As a result, abstract rules create problems when group members have different ideas about how to act with respect. For some group members, respectful behaviour means not expressing concerns about individual group members; For other members, it may mean the opposite. So what`s the best way to make sure everyone is prepared in advance? Here are some proven tactics used by highly effective teams. Drive change with a new set of ground rules. They ask people to change their behavior in meetings (that`s the only value of having the rules!). It may be a small and simple change, but it is a change nonetheless.
Let`s face it. We spend more time in meetings every year, especially if you`ve been given the role of a leader. While not fun, meetings make up a large portion of our work time. To make matters worse, many teams don`t set ground rules for meetings and therefore waste a lot of time. An alternative to appointing an observer is to have an anonymous feedback mechanism, such as a survey, to help assess how well people think the rules have been applied. Above are the ready-made ground rules for effective meetings. You can also set your own list of ground rules, depending on the company`s culture. Now is the time to learn how to put them into action.
When people are prepared, meetings are more productive. Discussions can be better informed and you waste less time on things like general information or project status reports because everyone agrees in advance. One of the challenges we face is that we can think much faster than others can speak. The spoken word is usually about 125-250 words per minute, but we can think with about 1000-3000 words per minute. We use all these free abilities for extra thoughts, making sure those thoughts are productive and focused on the meeting (not what`s for dinner, weekend plans, favorite resentments, etc.!). Once you do some experimentation with the basic rules yourself, you`ll find that setup and communication are the easy part. It is more difficult to follow the ground rules throughout the meeting. We have all been guilty at one time or another of letting our minds wander when we attended a meeting. However, it is important to remain as present as possible at meetings. This means not letting your mind wander, listening carefully, being ready to answer questions, and not interrupting others when it`s their turn to speak. In more than 30 years of supporting leadership teams, I`ve developed a set of eight research-inspired ground rules (I call them behaviors) that can help teams improve their performance, working relationships, and individual well-being.
(There`s a short article on my website explaining what the rules do and how to enforce them.) A more productive way to deal with this situation is to have a ground rule for testing hypotheses and conclusions. You can say, “Bob, I don`t understand how your comment about supplier discounts relates to when we should be launching the new product. Can you help me understand the link, or, if it is not related, can we determine if and when we should address your topic? By saying this, you can quickly test your conclusion that Bob`s comment is unrelated. It may not be easy to decide what ground rules to set for a meeting. To make your work easier, our meeting scientists have brought 10 proven team meeting rules as a basis. Inform organizers and participants of the basic rules by email. If meeting participants agree, appoint someone as an observer of the meeting who can provide feedback on how the rules are being followed and how they support the conduct of the meeting.