My business lead wants to review & edit steering committee meeting minutes before sending them out to the team. He has accused me of not stating things accurately - i.e. I don't sugar coat that bad
My business lead wants to review & edit steering committee meeting minutes before sending them out to the team. He has accused me of not stating things accurately - i.e. I don't sugar coat that bad news. Should I let him edit the minutes or stand firm on keeping them as impartial artifacts of the project? Saving Changes...
Hans RobbersSenior Director| SalesforceVlissingen, Netherlands
Anna,
Couple of questions to understand the issue:
is the business lead part of the steering committee?
are the minutes of meeting approved or still subject to approval by the steerco?
In case not approved and the bl part of the steerco his/her comments are changes to the notes and need to be approved by the other members before sending out
If bl not part of the steerco I would discuss this with the steerco if the changes are agreed.
If mom are not approved by the steerco I would not sent them before approval.
hopes this helps
Hans Saving Changes...
Andy HesseyDirector| AHmedia (Project Management) LtdCrawley, United Kingdom
Anna.
Are things that bad that you need to give news a sugar coating?
Wouldn't it be better if the Steerco had the news they should hear rather than the news they want to hear?
Andy. Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
I don't think sugar coating is a good idea. People aren't that stupid. They will hear it from other channels and grapevines, and when that happens, they will get more panic as what they heard from you is different from what they heard from others. This will raise an unnecessary alarm which may break the trust in the team. The better way is to report the facts and if there are any bad news, explain what mitigation plans are put in place to address them. Saving Changes...
I'm curious about this - it sounds as if you are producing steering committee minutes yourself. I prefer to get somebody else to take minutes of meetings so that I can concentrate on chairing the meeting and ensuring that everyone is getting the opportunity to contribute to discussions. Trying to do that while taking notes for minutes too will reduce the quality of the discussion.
Presumably your steering group wil see the minutes too - so they must be accurate, but don't forget all your achievements as well as the issues. Saving Changes...
As a direct communicator I can appreciate your standpoint, however you also need to consider team morale. There are many ways of stating the same thing, perhaps "softening" the words would have less of a negative impacts on the team than the "unsugar coated" version. Provided the meaning is unchanged I see no harm in rephrasing. Saving Changes...
Linda HillProgram Manager| MicrosoftRenton, Wa, United States
It is important to understand that there are many ways people communicate and perception of what is being communicated is important. Also the objective of the meeting minutes is to report objectively and accurately keeping in mind your audience. I believe that agreeing on a formta is a good beginning as that will help with expectations and then word thing to get what you need without putting blame on people. For example state that the work is being delayed because .... don't say "Brian didn't ordert... and so we are falling behind. I know you already know this but sometimes it is good to go back to basics. Saving Changes...
Hans RobbersSenior Director| SalesforceVlissingen, Netherlands
Tim
Your reply puzzles me. Chairing the steerco as a pm? I am used to the project sponsor, preferable someone of CXO's chairs the steerco since he holds the budget. As a pm you report into the steerco but you are not a part of it. Decision making is with the steerco and the pm advises and reports.
Can you elaborate on your role as chairman of the steerco? Saving Changes...
Peter CraigTechnical Leader| Yorkshire WaterBradford, United Kingdom
The important thing is that the steering committee understand and believe what you're telling them. If you say "we are 2 months behind" and they insist on publishing "there's a possibility of a minor delay" doesn't matter, as long as they do accept that you are 2 months behind and support you appropriately with extra resources or whatever you require.
If you need to, record in your Project Log the accurate facts as you reported them.
Business communication is their responsibility. Saving Changes...
Capturing minutes its an art! not everyone can actually separate the what he\or she said during discussions too much jargon! simply capture agreed decisions and actions that can be followed through at the next meeting. Saving Changes...
Mark GripResource Associate - Project Management Office| Connecticut Department of LaborWethersfield, Ct, United States
The suggestion that I have is why not voice record the meeting using something like jott.com. The system uses a voice to text recording. From what I heard it’s great. All you have to do is call into the system record the meeting and then you can get a print out of the meeting minutes within minutes. This would save time and money. Saving Changes...
