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...
Mark GripResource Associate - Project Management Office| Connecticut Department of LaborWethersfield, Ct, United States
P.S. This would eliminate any questions as to who said what.... Saving Changes...
Linda HillProgram Manager| MicrosoftRenton, Wa, United States
After reading through this discussion thread, it appears that the problem is trust, not necessarily communication. Or at least the discussion is leaning in that direction. What do you think?
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1 reply by Charles Ibonye
May 02, 2020 12:24 PM
Charles Ibonye
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Linda,
I do believe it is a combination of both as the business lead do not trust the PM enough with the use of words/communication style especially when communicating to other business leaders.
I have experienced this as a PM and also as a Business Lead and my advise will be to;
1. Re-validate and summarize key discussion/action points at the end of every meeting
2. Get review inputs of draft MOM from stakeholders before formally sharing the MOM. This is usually face-to-face to get quick response or can be by email
3. Request for any corrections or omissions when you share the MOM and put a note that after 2-5 days it will be adopted if no response
4. At the beginning of the next meeting the last MOM should be reviewed (with all updated corrections) and then PM provides a progress update on the action points taken during the last meeting.
I do not believe the Business Lead expects the PM to sugar coat things that are bad. The business environment might be highly political at that level.
Saving Changes...
Linda HillProgram Manager| MicrosoftRenton, Wa, United States
Here is a quote from Jott.com dated 7/26/11 "In 2006 Jott emerged as a leader in mobile voice-to-text applications. Now, nearly two years after Jott's acquisition and a successful integration into Nuance, we are officially ending the Jott service on May 3rd, 2011.This may seem counter-intuitive – success leading to a shutdown.But while it is an ending of sorts, the reality is that the technology, service, talent and imagination of Jott will continue on as part of a far broader set of services. The Jott team, vision and technologies are an integral part of a global business which includes partners such as AT&T, Rogers, Bell Canada, Vodafone, Cisco, Vonage, and many others..." Saving Changes...
I have re-read this post and would like some clarification on a communication issue.
"He has accused me of not stating things accurately" you interpret this as "I don't sugar coat that bad news".
Have you had that conversation with him where you explore his perceived inaccuracies and your assumption of not sugar coating things? Have you spoken to the other steering committee members to obtain their recollection of the meeting and their preferred approach to the documentation of the minutes? It is not only one person's opinion that counts here, it is the agreed collective opinion.
I always send minutes out for review before formally issuing them so that everyone has an opportunity to correct any errors.
On a final point do you accept the previous minutes as accurate at the next meeting? If so then the changes (if any) are OK with the other committee members.
Saving Changes...
Revisit the governance structure and charter for this meeting. Is this really a big issue or is their confusion about the purpose of the meeting by the business lead? Also, the project manager should focus on executive status project reporting: current project status/major issues, tasks completed and planned for upcoming weeks, milestones, real time costs and project health status(red, green, yellow) If you have a structure for reporting at these meetings you may meet with less resistance. Also, you may wish to hold discussion with the business lead in your project meetings so you can review the project status. Also, review your RACI matrix and review your project team roles to make sure you are obtaining input from key project staff.
Normal Structure for Meeting:
The Governance Structure for a Steering Committee is usually chartered and the purpose for meeting minutes is to document the purpose, key issues, action items and other related items. It's should be a recap of the meeting.
Normally, the format for the meeting minutes should be approved by the Steering Committee Chair. The scribe for the meeting should develop the meeting minutes and send them out prior to the next meeting.
Normally the Steering Committee Chair will review the last meeting minutes at the beginning of the meeting, ask for any changes, hold brief discussion and ask for adoption.
Let us know how this helps. Saving Changes...
Randa SpellerMarketing Specialist / Chair PM Community of Practice| Union Gas Limited; EnbridgeChatham, Ontario, Canada
I'm guessing that one of two things are at play behind your question:
- your business lead has a different communication style than you. If they're more knowledgeable about the communication preferences of the steering committee, you should benefit from their edits. If you are too blunt, you will lose credibility, so their help may protect you in the long run.
or
- your business lead is caught up in political sensitivities that you may not be aware of. In this case, you may need to negotiate wording so that your intent can be clear, but will not damage/humiliate the business lead or a specific person on the steering committee. Saving Changes...
Wayne MackRetired| RetiredSouth Riding, Va, United States
Why not co-edit the minutes with the business lead? Let the business lead have a pass and discuss any changes before sending the final version. It is always good practice to identify the key issue from your perspective and focus on that one item - let the rest of the changes slide.
Saving Changes...
Linda HillProgram Manager| MicrosoftRenton, Wa, United States
I think Randa has the right ideas and I'd advise you to consider them seriously. An apporach not mentioned but you might try is having the business lead take the minutes while you facilitate the meeting. This might give you a different perspective. With diff erent communication styles, many times people are saying the same thing just presenting it differently. And as most initiatives are driven by the business, your future projects may be in jeopardy. Saving Changes...
It's a team meeting so either everyone agrees on the minutes or you have multiple copies of the minutes. You shouldn't be offended, this occurs often because sometimes different people hear different things. Saving Changes...
