Turn Project Meeting Disasters into Motivating Opportunities!
By Jayne Gnadt, PMP

Tired of those project meetings that seem to turn into disasters, even with the best laid plans? Think about some of those disasters…Did you ever wonder why you were invited to the meeting in the first place? How about those times when you wait for 5, 10, even 15 minutes to start the meeting while participants stroll in? What about those chaotic meetings that continuously stray off track where nothing seems to go according to plan (if there is one!)? It’s time to turn those disasters into meetings that add value to the project work, save time and serve as motivation to your project team!

Let’s examine some common pitfalls that can quickly turn well intended project meetings into nightmares. This first may seem relatively obvious, but how often have you attended a project meeting without an agenda? If no one has any idea what will be discussed, how do your stakeholders properly prepare for the meeting? A simple agenda takes the guess work out of the meeting by specifying the meeting purpose – think desired outcomes! Is it a brainstorming session, an informational announcement or an update on project status? If the meeting agenda requires input from the team, give them time to submit their topics and times needed to cover each topic and then distribute the agenda a day or two before the meeting. Be sure to include specifics such as date, day, time, time zone, location and pertinent phone numbers, and – this is significant and often left out – whether all participants need to attend the entire session.

An action/decision list is another great tool to use to help keep your meetings organized and to capture key meeting results. It can be used during the meeting to ensure that all actions and assignments are documented along with the responsible party and due date. It also clarifies all decisions made and can be kept as a part of project history. Publish the list as part of the meeting notes so there is no room for misunderstandings.

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