How to lead
A Project Meeting
Project Management: How to Run Team Meetings
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[Music]
hello i'm jennifer whitt director of
projectmanager.com nothing gives me
worse of a headache than a bad meeting
we've all been there
we've all seen the scenarios you've got
that one who's always going to speak up
to derail your meeting you've been in
those meetings where no one knows why am
I here what am I doing here and why is
that person here we've all seen all
different scenarios even interviewing
CEOs of some of the top companies one of
the biggest complaints is poor meetings
people not knowing why they're there and
leaving without knowing why was that
here and what's to be done next so I've
got four tips that are four key elements
to running a meeting that a project
manager can use that's simple
remember simplicity helps to go a long
way so for those of you who like methods
methodology consider this the PC FW
method of running your meeting so what
does that stand for
prepare communicate facilitate and by
all means wrap it up so let's talk about
each of the four key elements so number
one in preparation there's purpose
preparing for the purpose of the meeting
why are you having this meeting who
needs to be there why do they need to be
there what do they need to prepare
beforehand what do you as the project
manager need to be prepared beforehand
so purpose people again knowing who's
supposed to be there why are they there
are they decision-makers are they there
to provide input why do you need them
there and then props how are you going
to facilitate and run your meeting do
you need props do you need laptop do you
need a LCD projector do you need flip
charts do you need boards markers Duty
pins and paper what do you need for
people to use and for you to facilitate
the meeting have you ever shown up at a
site and you didn't have the materials
you needed or thought we're supposed to
be there well you as a project manager
can prepare for that second key element
communicate is communicating to people
beforehand inviting them to the meeting
the agenda letting them know when
there's
to be there why they're supposed to be
there in five minutes before him let
people know in advance so they know they
can prepare on their schedule being
mindful again that other people have
schedules too so letting people know in
advance so they can beforehand prepare
get together what they need to show up
and maybe ask any questions maybe
contact you or other members on the team
before so let them know what's on the
agenda what are we going to be talking
about they may want to invite some other
key people as well and give you an
opportunity to say yeah that's great but
we don't really want them to be there in
this meeting action items making sure
people have completed action items maybe
before previous meeting preparing for in
completing action items they were
supposed to do prior so before they show
up to the meeting make sure that the
previous action items have been
completed or at least not the status
facilitating the meeting so we've all
seen that one where the thing gets out
of control it's supposed to be maybe a
20 minute status meeting or a 30-minute
status meeting or a short call or
stand-up meeting that turns in to a
two-hour brawl so we don't want that we
want to make sure everything's on time
and on topic so on time is making sure
that we really stick to the timeline of
the meeting so if you have different
items on the agenda knowing how long
you're going to spend on that and
actually you as a project manager
facilitating that you stay within that
time so that way people will stay
engaged with you they want you won't
lose credibility and people will know
when to expect to leave the meeting and
on topic so staying on topic to the
agenda there are people who have other
agendas who will try to take over and
hijack your meeting maybe for their own
purposes so you have to facilitate that
and stay on topic and let them know well
that's if someone brings up a topic
that's not on your agenda what may be
important but it may not be within the
purpose of that meeting so it's
important to put that on a parking lot
and at the end let people know what are
we going to do with this item and I love
this one
hold that thought because a lot of times
people will maybe raise their hand or
bring up a question on something
that you're going to cover later in the
meeting so just politely say I
appreciate that
hold that thought we're going to talk
about that later then that way that
gives the person the comfort level to
know okay that items going to be handled
in this meeting but at least they'll
know it's going to be handled later and
you can stay on time and on topic and
last but not least wrap up so we've all
been in those meetings where they've
gone too long so everyone's just in a
hurry to get out of there so know
everyone leaves not knowing exactly what
to do or what the next steps are
so the important item in this and this
step is to wrap up with action items and
next steps so action items what items
are to be left done at the end who's
supposed to do it when are they supposed
to complete it and then knowing next
steps letting people know when you will
be meeting again or what decisions will
have to be made so that these are the
four key elements of the PC FW method
and how to run your meetings more
effectively so maybe you won't leave
with a headache and your team members
want either so I hope you found these
valuable and if you need any additional
tips tools or techniques maybe in
running your meetings come by and visit
us at projectmanager.com
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