Meeting Management

Plan the Meeting Ensure Appropriate Participation at the Meeting

Determine who needs to be present for the meeting to be successful

Distribute and Review Pre-work Prior to the Meeting Don’t make the meeting a group read-in. Ask for review of minutes or necessary documents

prior to the meeting day. Develop an Agenda

Send notice of date/time/location of the meeting Ask staff to submit agenda item ideas prior to meeting

date Try to keep the outline of the agenda consistent for

each meeting

Effective meetings that produce results, begin with meeting planning.

Plan the Meeting

Sample Agenda Sample items for agendas: Ground Rules Review Goals for Meeting Standing Items

Unit Priorities Patient feedback Staff feedback Resources needed

Old Items Review of deadlines and responsibilities Review of meeting

Sample Agenda

Ground Rules- Sample1) Come to the meeting with a positive attitude. 2) Treat members with respect both, during the meeting and outside of the meeting. 3) Be prompt in arriving to the meeting. 4) Turn cell phones off or to vibrate. 5) If you must take urgent calls on the cell phone, take your conversation outside. 6) Present yourself in a positive manner. 7) Talk one at a time8) Limit side conversations. 9) Be patient when listening to others speak and do not interrupt them. 10) Members need to stay on the topic being discussed. 11) When a topic or agenda item has been discussed fully, do not bring the same subject

back up. 12) Don't discuss personal issues during the meeting, except when it is about the subject

being discussed by the council. 13) Don't make threats or rude comments to members. 14) Address any concerns about the discussion or the meeting with the Co-Chair. 15) Be respectful of other people's ideas or situations when they talk. Try not to judge

them or point fingers.

Facilitating a MeetingWork to engage the team throughout the process

Assign clear roles for the meeting

Team leader Facilitator Scribe (rotate responsibility) Time Keeper Etc.

Facilitation in the context of communities of practice is to help smoothly manage the flow and discussions of a meeting or event

GOAL: maximize member’s time and energy by keeping the event and discussions on track.

Facilitation Tools… Graphic options

Good facilitators value people and their ideas

Good facilitators think quickly and logically

Good facilitators are excellent communicators

Good facilitators are both product and process oriented

(CDC, 2014)

What makes a good facilitator?

Responsibilities of the Facilitator Prepare in Advance.

Plan and Distribute the Agenda.

State your objectives at the beginning of the event.

Establish Community Expectations.

Guide the group in presenting and sharing information.

Provide closure and reiterate action items.

What happens if a meeting gets off track? As a facilitator what can I do?

Stimulating productive inquiry

Examples: lulls in an on-going conversation or a stand-still in a single event

Use probing questions

Invite the experts to speak up

Call on individuals in the group

Write down (brainstorm ideas) Read them aloud or, Post where visible Use tool(s) that are appropriate

Invite debate (CDC, 2014)

Staying on-task and on-time

Examples: groups of passionate and knowledgeable people that get off topic or side tracked

Remind the group of the “keep focused” expectation

Don’t be afraid to directly re-focus the group on a particular agenda item

Try to close the item or set it aside in a “parking lot” for consideration later

Take a break

Let the group decide

(CDC, 2014)

Dealing With Unproductive Behavior

Examples: personal agendas, sidebar conversations, taking phone calls etc.

Use gentle and appropriate humor for redirection

Restate the ground rules directly

Direct your questions to the individual for clarification

Seek help from the group

Address the issue at a break or offline

Dismiss participant(s) from group(CDC, 2014)

Summary

Feedback/Comments/Questions?