Crowley & Co. News
From Feared to Revered:
Leveraging the Untapped Potential of the Weekly Staff Meeting
Written by Deirdre Crowley, January 2008
In most organizations, regardless of sector, staff meetings are viewed as a command performance, dreaded rather than eagerly anticipated. Yet they are actually a unique opportunity for team building, creating a forum for engaging discussion, and a means to keep the organizational strategy on track. They can also be transformed into a valuable, low-risk skills-development forum for the entire team; an opportunity to learn collaborative meeting tools and frameworks for use in all areas of their jobs. Most important, staff meetings can be the perfect place to prime the innovation and creativity pump in an era when these are two of the most coveted resources in the increasingly competitive global market.
Throughout countless interviews, I have consistently heard that staff meetings have become a vacuum for valuable time and resources. As one manager recently reported, "The bulk of our time is spent on departmental updates in which each team is trying to list all their accomplishments for the benefit of senior staff. This is not at all helpful in terms of the overall planning purposes and often results in unhealthy competition among colleagues."
This probably sounds all too familiar to many (particularly those who have lived here in Washington, DC). Why, then, do most organizations not make better use of this staff time together? At no other time in history have we had more tools and methodologies for effective meetings and communication at our disposal. Yet, when it comes to the lowly weekly staff meeting, we choose not to use them.
Below are just a few of the many ways in which the weekly staff meeting can be transformed from feared to revered; from a dreaded obligation into a forum embraced by employees as a means for developing new ideas, a more focused team, and positive, sustained changes throughout the organization.
Admitting there's a problem is the first step
Many organizations have slipped into a comfortable state of denial regarding the dysfunction or ineffectiveness of their internal meetings settling on formats that cover little more than could be exchanged in an e-mail. Acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step towards recovery.
Where do you start in revitalizing the staff meeting? Ask your staff what they think!
What to do:
Devote one regularly scheduled staff meeting to the improvement of, well...regularly scheduled staff meetings.
As a team, agree on the overarching goals for staff meetings. These goals will not change from week to week (even though some of the short term outcomes will) and may include: " Strategy tracking " Team building " Departmental check-ins " Discussion of problem issues/problem-solving " Skills building (i.e. facilitation, graphic recording) " Fun! Ask, "Are our staff meetings effectively meeting these goals at this time?" If the answer is a resounding "Yes!" then declare victory and move on. If the answer is "No!" then read on.
Begin by brainstorming "What's Working?" and "What Can Be Improved?" Use a simple "Plus/Delta" flipchart to capture the input on sticky notes. In the spirit of brainstorming, welcome all ideas without criticism. These may include, but are not limited to, issues surrounding time - How long do we want to meet? How often do we want to meet?
Ask the team, "Which of these ideas, if addressed, would have the greatest immediate impact on our meetings?" Do an informal vote and prioritize the sticky notes accordingly.
Spend time discussing approaches to address each of the priority areas for improvement. Make a list of action items and encourage ownership from a variety of staff members with dates for completion. Ask for volunteers willing to own the overall process and to track progress. This can be a rotating role.
OARRS (Outcomes, Agenda, Roles, Rules)
Based on David Sibbet's basic principles of facilitation, prepare for each meeting in advance by identifying the intended outcomes, agenda, roles and ground rules for the session. Begin each meeting by reviewing these with the group, invite participants to add to them; and use them as a means of keeping things on track.
Outcomes:
What do we want to have achieved by the end of the meeting? List objectives on sticky notes and place them on the OARRs chart.
Ground Rules:
Some suggestions include:
- Cell phones off or on vibrate
- Issues parking lot (to capture ideas for future meetings or offline discussions)
- Share the Air
- Avoid the Swamps
- Start and end on time
Roles:
Choose a facilitator - Some teams decide to rotate this role and to use this as an opportunity for staff members to develop essential facilitation skills that they can use elsewhere in their jobs. Provide volunteers with resources and the support they need along with any necessary time to prepare.
Recorder:
The use of large sticky notes and a template is an easy way to make use of a large format, visual approach for capturing content without requiring a skilled graphic recorder for every meeting.
Training Resources for Basic Facilitation and/or Graphic Recording
Support the staff in developing effective meeting facilitation and graphic recording skills by sending interested individuals to workshops or holding one internally. Workshops are explained and listed on the following Web sites:
Start the Meeting with a Team Building Activity
Many people shy away from ice-breakers in their staff meetings because they see them as a waste of time or too touchy-feely. They are, however, an important component in unlocking the creative brain while also addressing different work preferences. A brief activity as simple as asking, "What was the last movie you saw and how did you like it?" or "What book are you reading now?" can put people at ease, help them to get to know each other better, add an element of humor to the session, and provide the sense of connectedness that some participants may need before they feel comfortable enough to contribute freely.
Track Ongoing Strategic Initiatives
The use of a large meeting chart/template is an effective means of capturing meeting content, tracking initiatives over time, acknowledging achievements and sharing information. Imagine the difference between walking a team member who missed a staff meeting through the content on a large chart as opposed to sending a Word document. One provides an instant opportunity for discussion. The other offers no opportunity for exchange and will most likely remain unread.
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"...Members develop rich and detailed images of the end state that the team is to pursue. It is these images of the end state, far more than any other way of representing performance targets, that engage and focus team members' motivation to perform."
- J. Richard Hackman, 2002, Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performance
