Plan a Problem-Solving Meeting

Setting an Agenda

There are four main elements of information that are necessary in a complete and comprehensive agenda. These elements include a complete list of the meeting attendees, any and all necessary background information, concise explanation of each agenda item, and the time and location of the meeting. The logistics of the meeting, such as the time and location are key to having attendees arrive on time. A list of meeting attendees, is important because it gives everyone a clear idea of who they can expect to see in the meeting and understand what kind of level meeting it is (ex. Upper management meeting, accounting meeting, software developer meeting). Necessary background information on an agenda would be extremely helpful so that all the attendees can come to the meeting with the same mindset, and an explanation of agenda items helps the attendees can grasp the main purpose for the meeting and what is to be accomplished.

According to the text an effective agenda can be built by asking a form of these vague questions as agenda items:

1. What background information is necessary to review in order to begin the meeting?

2. What things need to happen in the meeting in order for our team to achieve the objective?

3. For the attendees, what types of specific conversations will be crucial and important?

More specific examples of these agenda items could be:

1. Thank all for their attendance, meeting agenda, proceed to review the current status of Scranton Merger project (Marty & Ravi)

2. Develop a 3 week plan to be proposed to corporate plan for the LMS system makeover (Rachel & Peter)

3. Discuss the progress of the each team’s projects (each project developer manager)

Conducting the Meeting

A parliamentary procedure is a type of procedure with a set of rules governing how groups should conduct business and make decisions in meetings. A pro of this type of procedure is that it can help meetings run efficiently and clearly while respecting all of the attendees. However when used in the wrong setting, a parliamentary procedure can seem awkward and cause unnecessary conflicts.

In order to maintain a level of balanced participation amongst all of a meetings’ attendees, one should use questions types such as the following to encourage more participation and listening: relay questions, reverse questions, direct questions, and overhead questions. Relay questions are when the leader redirects a question from an attendee to the entire group, thus prompting the attendee’s to develop their own ideas before hearing what management has to say on the matter. (“Jill brings up a good point, it what ways can the accounting team work with the sales team on these new term numbers?”) Reverse questions are when a leader simply asks the person who asked the question, what he/she thinks of the topic. (“I think that an honest question to ask, what do you yourself think about it Isaac?”). Direct questions are like the classic teacher to student questions, where the leader calls out a specific individual and asks for response. (“Olivia, what do you think would be the best option for the merger acquisition?”). Targeting individuals keeps all the attendees on their toes and mentally engaged in the meeting. Overhead questions such as group questions like “What do you all think about casual Fridays?” open up the entire room for conversation and voices to be shared.

Appraising the Meeting Leader

There are key differences between how a leader should open and close a meeting. Although both sections of meeting should include information or new insight about the main agenda points, the introduction section of a meeting should set up how the rest of the meeting will run, as the concluding proportion will focus on a when a follow-up meeting may take place and what to look forward to both short-term and long-term. A leader should both begin and conclude a meeting precisely on its scheduled times. The beginning of a meeting should provide a much more detailed run through of the meeting agenda memo, whereas the conclusion should summarize the meeting’s accomplishments, and thank everyone for their presence and time.