Four Meeting Problems: Which Ones Do You Want to Overcome?

 

Friends, have you experienced any poorly run meetings lately? Although meetings are a fundamental tool for managing projects, many meetings fail to achieve results. Let’s look at four common meeting problems: unclear purpose, topic hopping, indecision and unclear direction.

1. Unclear Purpose: Far too often, people attend meetings with no idea of why the meeting was called. You can bet the meeting will wander aimlessly without clear objectives. The meeting facilitator should specify the purpose in the agenda. For example: “To select requirements from the backlog for the next sprint.”

Start your meetings by stating the purpose of the meeting. For example: “The purpose of this meeting is to select requirements from the backlog for the next sprint.” Then review the agenda topics and ground rules. Ask if there are any questions or any additional agenda items.

These steps help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and understands the purpose, topics and conduct.

2. Topic Hopping: Many people are free thinkers. They hop from one topic to another. However, this digression decreases the efficiency and effectiveness of your meetings. Reviewing your purpose and agenda items defines the boundaries of your meetings. What is in scope? What is out of scope?

Use an Issues List. Meetings stimulate ideas. People don’t want to …

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