Chairing a meeting

Abstract

In project management, an important but often neglected skill, is chairing an effective meeting. Having ineffective meetings is a waste of organizational resources and can also lead to the wrong decisions being made. As a project manager, or the person chairing the meeting, it is important to note that doing a good job starts before the meeting itself. This starts with determining the 5 W's: who (should be a the meeting), what (should be discussed at the meeting), when (should be meeting be), where (is the meeting held) and why (are we having this meeting). During the meeting the focus is on making sure the meeting proceeds as expected. This includes following the agenda, making sure that sufficient discussion is allowed for each item, without also spending too much time either. It is also important that every person at the meeting gets a chance to state their opinion, so no person feels they are left outside the decisions. The work of the project manager is not done when the meeting concludes. After the meeting the project manager has to make sure that the decisions taken in the meeting are actually carried out after the meeting. This also includes following up on tasks given to specific persons in the meeting and ensuring they are done as planned.

Contents of article:

- Short explanation of the relevancy

- What to do before the meeting

- What to do during the meeting

- What to do after the meeting

- Mistakes to avoid

Key references:

https://www-emerald-com.proxy.findit.dtu.dk/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00197850310463751/full/pdf?title=chairing-developing-a-key-skill

https://emj-bmj-com.proxy.findit.dtu.dk/content/14/2/119

https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.findit.dtu.dk/doi/pdf/10.3109/01421598909146275?needAccess=true

https://www.targettraining.eu/the-why-when-where-who-what-and-how-of-the-meeting-agenda/

The Essential Managers Handbook

https://www.lifesize.com/en/video-conferencing-blog/types-of-business-meetings

No More Muddling Through Mastering Complex Projects in Engineering and Management

Portfolio Management: The standard for portfolio management

Program Management: The standard for program management

PMI Standard for Risk Management

Big Idea

When managing a project, portfolio or program, an essential requirement is communicating with relevant people. As a project manager it is important to make sure the projects become a succes through effective and efficient management. In order to make sure that the project is moving forward according to the planned schedule it is necessary for the people executing the project to know when and what they have to do. To do this many project managers use meetings as a tool to inform multiple members of the team at once, while also getting updates from the same members if things are not going to plan. However, if the meetings are not used properly by the project manager, they can be a waste of time and company resources and ultimately delay the project finish date as well as exceeding the expenses. While a project manager might have a focus on the larger aspects of the project, small things like having timely meetings and also not wasting time on meetings are essential for the big time schedules to go as planned. According to a 2012 survey done by the site salary.com, the number one reason for employees wasting time on work, was ineffective meetings. . The same result was found in the 2013 study.

While it might seem obvious that having good meeting practices will help the project forward, it is not always the case that companies follow that. Most people working have at some point or another complained that they are having too many meetings, that interrupt their work, while also complaining if they don't have enough information through meetings and feeling left in the dark. Good meeting practices is also something that is often not noticed when it works as it is supposed to, but when it does not work it creates a variety of problems.

This article will examine some of the good practices associated with chairing a meeting, but also the tasks to be done ahead of a meeting as well as how to proceed after the meeting has concluded. Most of the focus will though be on the things to do before and during the meeting since it has the most direct effect on the meeting. But without doing the proper work after the meeting, the meeting can become less valuable so that part will also be covered.

For this specific wiki article the perspective of a project manager is used, however many of the things explained here can also be attributed to managing a portfolio or a program.

Application

As outlined in the prior section, there is a lot of productivity to be saved by being able to conduct efficient meetings. This section will go through the best practices associated with productive meetings, while also discussing why it different meeting practices might be good for increasing the productivity. The section below this one will go through the limitations and downsides to the different meeting practices in order to give an allround view of the meeting practices.

Before meeting

In order to have a productive meeting, a lot of the work starts before the meeting is actually held. There are several things a project manager has to do and think about before the meeting is held. The first part is deciding on the basics of the meeting why is this meeting being held, who should attend the meeting, when and where should the meeting be held and what should be discussed in the meeting. These questions are based on the method five W's which is used in problem solving, but here makes the project manager consider the practicalities of the meeting.

1. Why: "Why is this meeting necessary?" is the essential question to ask before planning a meeting, since if the meeting is not necessary the other practicalities does not matter. When considering if a meeting is necessary the project manager should consider the work hours that goes into the meeting. If there is an hour long meeting with 5 employees that is 5 work hours going into the meeting, which means the result of the meeting should be worth more than those 5 work hours.

When asking why the meeting is necessary, it should also be considered what type of meeting it is . The type of the meeting also has influence on which employees should be invited, and therefore it should be decided early in the process. For status meetings especially the project manager should think whether it is necessary with a meeting, or if it could be accomplished by e-mail.

2. Who: In order to have a productive meeting, it is important to have the correct people as well as the correct amount of people at the meeting. If there is too many attending the meeting it might be less productive, and based on the work hours mentioned above, it might also be a waste of time for some of the people attending the meeting. If too few people are attending the meeting, there might be key information that is missing in order to make the correct decisions, while also possibly missing people who should be involved in making those decisions. So having the right number of key employees attending the meeting is imperative.

3. When: The meeting has to take place at a certain time, and this is also necessary to have decided before the meeting, so the attendees now when they have to attend the meeting. When deciding on the meeting start time, the project manager should also consider how long the meeting should be, and adjust accordingly, so a two or three hour long meeting is not put one hour before lunch.

4. Where: In line with "When" the place that the meeting is taking place is also important to communicate out to the attendees so they know where to attend the meeting at the specified time.

5. What: If the previous questions have been answered, the topic of the meeting should seem clear now. Nonetheless it is still useful to formally describe what the meeting should be about. This makes it easier to make the agenda for the meeting, while also ensuring that the meeting participants are on the same page regarding the topic of the meeting.

After answering the 5 W's, the project manager should have an idea of why the meeting is necessary, who should attend, where and when the meeting is as well as what the meeting is about. This leads to the next part which is setting the agenda for the meeting. Writing down the agenda makes it clear to the participants what they should expect for the meeting, the agenda should preferably be sent out before the meeting it self so the attendees has a chance to familiarize themselves with the agenda .

When the agenda is made for the meeting, the meeting should be called and the agenda distributed together with the invite. Sending out the agenda prior to the meeting gives the meeting guests a chance to view the topics for discussion, and make them consider their opinions prior to the meeting. This can help making the meeting proceed quicker since people has a opportunity to prepare their arguments before the meeting.

Since the agenda offers to make the meeting more effective if done correctly, it is also important that the project manager takes the necessary time to make the agenda. Several things can be done in order to improve the agenda. Not every item is applicable for every meeting, but can be considered.

1. State whether each item is for information, for discussion or for making a decision . This helps the meeting attendees understand why each item is on the agenda. This also helps during the meeting, if, for instance, a discussion is starting to take place under an information item, the chair of the meeting can stop the discussion while referring to the agenda.

2. Place important items early in the meeting . This is especially applicable for longer meetings where people might get tired towards the end. Placing important items early ensures that people are still fresh when making important decisions or discussing important items.

3. Include a short background for each item as well as noting the reason it is included .

4. Include the names of the attendees at the top, together with their responsibilities and who they represent.

5. Write how much time is allocated to each item of the agenda. This helps structuring the meeting and shows the attendees which items are expected to be explored more in depth. It will also help the chairman during the meeting to move on from items after the correct amount of time, so the meeting does not go over time.

During the meeting

As a project manager a lot of time has been put into the preparation work before the meeting itself. That work can however be made less useful if the project manager does not follow up, and chair the meeting in a way that it becomes productive. In order to do this, the project manager has to make sure that the meeting progresses smoothly while allowing the attendees to voice their opinion, and also leaving enough time for discussions if they are necessary prior to making decisions. Several things make running the meeting itself smoothly.

1. Start the meeting on time. Most people have a busy workday, and waiting five to ten minutes before starting the meeting will feel like a waste of time for those of the attendees who were on time.

2. Make sure that someone is assigned to take minutes for the meeting. This makes it possible to go back at a later date and see which decisions where made and who was responsible for doing which task after the meeting. It is possible to find a secretary for the meeting before it starts, but it is not a requirement. It is also useful to be in agreement about how detailed the minutes should be. Should they just reflect the final decisions, and who is responsible for what, or should it also include the discussions during the meeting and who stated what?

3. Keep the meeting in order. The attendees should speak only after getting permission from the chair in order to avoid cross-table discussions and small talk. This point can be adjusted depending on the formality of the meeting. Small informal meetings might require a less strict order from the chair, while larger meetings will require a more strict order in order to keep the meeting on time.

4. Make sure every person at the meeting is heard. All the attending employees have been invited for a specific reason and because they bring something to the meeting. The chair should know which people have knowledge about which items on the agenda, and should ensure that they have a chance to speak up, maybe even asking them directly if necessary. The goal of the meeting is still to make the best decisions, and that is best done by covering all the angles and opinions present at the meeting.

5. It is okay to finish the meeting ahead of time. If all the items on the agenda are discussed to a satisfactory level, there is no reason to keep people for the entire scheduled time. Bringing up new items the attendees have not prepared for, will perhaps lead to rushed decisions in order to keep the meeting schedule. As chair, the project manager should consider afterwards which items were estimated wrong, and consider if it could have been predicted, and then for next meeting keep that in mind.

- Make sure that proper time is allocated for each item

- Make sure everyone are heard

After the meeting

- Make sure that the responsibilities and duties assigned during the meeting is carried out

- Consider when the next meeting should be

Limitations

- Every organisation is different

- Different fields require different meeting type

- Sometimes meetings doesn't go as planned