Conduct Team Meeting

Conducting the Team Meeting covers the procedures necessary to perform the active elements of a team meeting successfully, including:

1) Guidelines for introducing participants and explaining roles, ground rules, and logistics

2) How to clarify and ensure buy-in to the Agenda by reviewing

  • The overall decision-making process
  • The sequence and flow of result topics
  • Process tools
  • Topic leaders
  • Time committed to each result topic

3) Preparations for a smooth transition from one Desired Result Topic to the next and the transition to the next facilitation tool

4) The process of generating ideas and gaining clarity and knowledge and the procedure for narrowing options that will lead toward decisions based on team agreement and commitment

Process Flow Diagram

Procedures

The goal!
Confirm the Context and Purpose Statements to provide a common frame which defines:

The need for meeting

Its urgency, importance, and relevance

Where it fits within the organization

Why do it?
Reviewing addresses the question “WHY have the meeting?” up front, providing a shared perspective on the relevant background information.

What to do:

Introduce participants.

Explain roles, ground rules, and logistics.

Review Reason for Meeting section in the AgendaTEC, adding necessary input and / or upgrades to the Context and Purpose Statements.

Decision:
Is everyone in agreement with Context, Purpose, and Meeting Ground Rules?

Responsibility

Team Leader

Procedure

Follow these steps for reviewing the Meeting Context:

Step

Action

1

Is your Agenda open?
If yes, press ALT + TAB.
If no, do so now.
2

Scroll to the Reason for Meeting section, and project onto a screen.
3

Ask “Does everyone clearly understand why we are having this meeting?”
If yes, move forward to Review Meeting Agenda.
If no, ask “What needs clarification, additions, or upgrades?”
4

Revise the document appropriately and then move forward to Review Meeting Agenda.

Example 

Tools

AgendaTEC-MS Word

The goal!
Confirm the Agenda including:

Timing

Who is involved

Facilitation tools

The decision-making process for each Desired Result Topic

Why do it?
Confirming the Agenda gives the team an opportunity to provide input on the content and process that will facilitate their work.

What to do:
Clarify and ensure buy-in to the Agenda by:

Reviewing the overall decision-making process

The sequence and flow of result topics

The process tools and topic leaders

Time committed to each result topic

Decision:
Is there buy-in to the Agenda and the process to be used to achieve the desired meeting results or are there upgrades in order?

Responsibility

Team Facilitator

Procedure

Follow these steps for reviewing the Meeting Agenda:

Step

Action

1

Press ALT + TAB to your AgendaTEC document.

Result: You move between your browser and the Meeting Agenda.
2

Scroll through the Meeting Agenda section, asking, “Does everyone clearly understand and support the Desired Results Topics, process tools, who will lead the topic, timing and the decision making process?”
If yes, move forward to Manage Agenda Transitions.
If no, ask, “What needs clarification or upgrade?”
3

Clarify and / or upgrade the Agenda, ask for commitment, and then move forward to Manage Agenda Transitions.

Example

Tools

AgendaTEC-MS Word

The goal!
Manage Agenda Transitions to keep meetings on track.

Why do it?
Managing Agenda Transitions avoids breakdowns in meeting progress through the timely application of facilitation tools.

What to do:

Prepare to make a smooth transition from one Desired Result Topic to the next, as well as transition to the next facilitation tool.

When necessary, redirect attention to the Level of Result the team is to achieve; be sure to explain the next facilitation tool.

Decision:
Which Facilitation Tools are required to continue Content generation and Desired Results progress and avoid disruptive transitions during the meeting?

Responsibility

Team Facilitator

Procedure

Follow these steps for managing agenda transitions:

Step

Action

1

Press ALT + TAB to your AgendaTEC document.

Result: You move between your browser and the Meeting Agenda.
2

Scroll to the Meeting Agenda and type how you are going to start and end each Desired Result Topic.
3

Explain how you are going to work through the process tools.
4

Ask, “Does everyone clearly understand how we are going to work through this Desired Results Topic?”
If yes, you have completed this procedure.
If no, proceed to step 5.
5

Ask “What needs clarification?” Make the necessary changes in the Meeting Agenda and then move forward to Open Desired Results Topic.

Example

Tools

AgendaTEC-MS Word

The goal!
To provide the starting point for hearing information, generating ideas, or discussion of a particular content topic.

Why do it?
Opening the Content Topic surfaces ideas and understanding that supports making judgements and informed decisions.

What to do:
State the ideas that need to be shared or created to initiate each Content Topic or Desired Result Topic.

Decision:
What is the best way to open up the discussion Content Topic(s) for a given Desired Result Topic?

  • If the idea(s) currently exists, review it.
  • If not, surface and document ideas.

Responsibility

Team Facilitator

Team Technographer

Procedure

Follow these steps for identifying ways of opening the discussion topics:

Step

Action

1

Press ALT + TAB to your FrameTEC document.

Result: You move between your browser and the framing document.
2

Scroll to the Originate Brainstorm tool and begin to generate and record ideas within the group.
3

Once all ideas are recorded, copy the ideas from the Originate Brainstorm tool, and paste them in the Clarify Understanding tool.

Important: If you need further instructions on how to copy and paste, go to the next procedure, Copying and Pasting Ideas.
4

Using the Clarify Understanding tool, ask, “Are any of the ideas listed here not stated correctly? Do any of these ideas need clarification?”
5

Capture and record any corrections.
6

Get agreement from the group and move forward.

Copying and Pasting Ideas

Step

Action

1

To copy, highlight an idea and press CTRL+C.
2

To paste, place the cursor into the correct cell and press CTRL+V.

Example

Tools

FrameTEC-MS Word

The goal!
Focus the Topic to keep the team working together to converge and focus on the most relevant and important content.

Why do it?
This is the process whereby conscious choices or decisions about the content are continuously made in order to add value and progress toward achieving Desired Results.

What to do:
After generating ideas and gaining clarity and knowledge, begin narrowing options that will lead toward decisions.

Decision:
Which shared or generated ideas should be considered priority?

  • Establish the value, importance, or significance of these ideas through utilizing and focusing facilitating tools.
  • Then choose those ideas to be carried forward for further work or action.

Responsibilty

Team Facilitator

Team Technographer

Procedure

Follow these steps for focusing and prioritizing the meeting topics :

Step

Action

1

Press ALT + TAB to your FrameTEC document.

Result: You move between your browser and the framing document.
2

Using the N ⁄ 3 tool, get the group to vote for the ideas they feel are most important by saying to the group, “Let’s use the N ⁄ 3 voting tool to help prioritize our focus for change. It works this way. We generated 13 ideas. We divide 13 by 3–everyone will get 4 votes. If there aren’t any questions, we will begin.”
3

Ask, “How many vote for the first item?”
4

Type the number next to the idea and move quickly to the next idea.
5

Repeat the process until all are complete.
6

Once the voting is completed, sort the list.
7

Go to Sort the List.

Sort the List

Step

Action

1

Highlight all of the generated ideas in the N ⁄ 3 tool.
2

Go to the tool bar, select Table.
3

Select Sort.
4

Select Sort by Descending.

Result: This will bring the most popular ideas to the top of the list and provide the group with direction for moving forward.

Example

Tools

FrameTEC-MS Word

The goal!
Close Desired Result Content Topic to bring closure to current work being done before moving on.

Why do it?
Closing Content Topics ensures continued progress through a series of individual agreements and commitments.

What to do:

Get step-by-step Content Topic agreement and commitment.
Ensure agreement and commitment to the Desired Result.

Decision:
Are team members in agreement and committed to Content Topic & Desired Result?

  • If Content topic appears to have been taken to the level necessary, ask “Are you ready, willing, and able to move on?”
  • If decisions or Desired Results have been made, ask “Do we have agreement and commitment?” Close each Topic and Result one at a time.

Responsibility

Team Facilitator

Team Technographer

Procedure

Follow these steps for closing the meeting topics :

Step

Action

1

Press ALT + TAB to your FrameTEC document.

Result: You move between your browser and the framing document.
2

Using the Choose tool and say, “It looks as though the team majority has voted for……. Who will take on the assignment of ………….?”
3

Say, “Let’s use our Action Plan in the FrameTEC menu to record our action item and move forward.”
4

Use the Action Plan to record the action item.
5

Repeating steps 2 & 3, proceed through the items that have the most votes.
6

Ask, “Great. Is that acceptable with everyone?”
If yes, request that a status report be ready to be given at the next meeting.
If no, clear up any confusion and gain acceptability.

Example

Tools 

FrameTEC-MS Word

Roles and Responsibilities

Roles
General Responsibilities
Leader
  • Provides direction to help the team get the tasks done
  • Identifies and communicates organization constraints
  • Communicates the team’s roles and responsibilities (Each member has been selected and invited to join the team because each has a valuable contribution to make that will help to achieve results.)
  • Asks for assistance to keep the meeting on track (The Leader must balance the content and the process of the session, and it may become difficult at times.)
  • Solicits assistance for maintaining momentum
  • Establishes the ground rules
  • Contracts Team Leader role

Facilitative Responsibilities

  • Actively contributes content ideas
  • Actively provides process suggestions
  • Gives recognition and support for ideas
  • Encourages equal participation
  • Enables people to contribute their ideas fully
  • Models proactive listening

Responsibilities for Keeping the Meeting Focused and Moving

  • Remains aware of the time
  • Keeps the team progressing toward results
  • Uses body language to focus attention (i.e., stands up to get attention, sits down once team is focused, moves to the front of the room, points to the Technographer)
  • Continuously provides content and process direction by interacting directly with the Team Members and Recorder throughout the Team Memory
  • If a Facilitator and / or Consultant is present, interacts periodically as necessary to:
    • Strategize (plan the process ahead)
    • Seek Assistance
    • Offer a suggestion about content and/or process
  • Consistently uses the Team Memory to (re)focus the session content and / or process
Facilitator The Facilitator assist’s the team in working through the session agenda to achieve results.

  • Throughout the session, the Facilitator makes process suggestions that will expedite the session to ensure that results are achieved.
  • The Facilitator does not contribute his/her own content ideas, but does encourage participation and input by each of the participants because input is critical to the session’s success.

Communication Responsibilities

  • Makes sure everyone has an equal chance to provide input and enables people to express their ideas in full
  • Listens proactively and objectively to input by all Team Members and keep the team focused on issues, not personalities
  • Offers alternative process suggestions

Meeting Flow Responsibilities

  • Guides the team’s effort toward a common result and focuses work on a common task
  • Balances the session content & process
  • Balaces own energy level with that of the team: neutral when high; energized when low
  • Uses open body language to encourage participation and closed body language to encourage someone to wait
  • Consistently uses the Team Memory to (re)focus the session content and/or process

Contracting Responsibility

Contracts the Team Facilitator Role

Technographer The Technographer is a content-neutral, process servant to the Team during the team meeting.

  • Remains neutral to the content and does not contribute own content ideas
  • Seeks assistance from the participants to ensure that information is accurately recorded
  • Creates the Team Memory:
    • Types in the ideas of team members using key words and phrases
    • Does not paraphrase, interpret, evaluate, or judge ideas
  • Keeps pace with the group to avoid missing critical information
    • Listens proactively
    • Makes corrections non-defensively
  • Conceptually follows the discussion to frame and organize data in the Team Memory
    • Focuses attention primarily on the Team Memory throughout the session
    • Interacts with the Proactive Leader, Facilitator, Consultant, and/or Team Members when assistance is needed or direction is being given

Contracting Responsibilities

Contracts the Recorder Role

Member
  • Participates actively, openly, and constructively
  • Raises issues and differences directly
  • Considers alternative points-of-view
  • Respects everyone’s right to contribute ideas completely
  • Actively listens to other Team Member’s ideas
  • States commitment and support for decisions and required action
  • Provides feedback if something is not working

Contracting Responsibilities

Contracts the Team Member Role

Consultant
  • Helps the Team to achieve session and organizational desired results and deliverables
  • Helps keep the overall Team effort focused and on track
  • Assists in framing and reframing from an expert perspective
  • Helps to format and organize data to ensure meaningful and useful documentation
  • Helps provide Team balance, taking into account personal preferences

Contracting Responsibilities

Contracts the Consultant Role