December 2012
Presented by New York Campus Compact
RUNNING EFFECTIVE
MEETINGS AND
DELEGATING TASKS
Running Effective Meetings and Delegating Responsibilities
Running effective meetings can be a challenging task. We’ve
all been to meetings where we’ve felt it was a waste of our
time and energy to be there.
If you’d like to avoid “death by meeting,” the information
within this presentation will help you do so.
Determine if a meeting is necessary
Sometimes we hold meetings simply because it’s something that
has always been done. We’ve had a meeting every month for
the past three years, and although we dislike them, they are a
part of our ritual.
To determine if a meeting is absolutely necessary, ask yourself, “is
the flow of information strictly one way?” If the answer is yes,
you’re better off communicating via mass email to all people
involved. If the information will be flowing in multiple directions, a
face-to-face meeting is best.
Plan and Prepare
Prepare for your meeting. This is the biggest way to ensure that
meetings are effective. Consider the following:
Purpose: What is the goal?
Participant: Who really needs to be there?
Structure: What techniques are most useful for achieving the purpose?
Location and Time: When and where will the groups needs be best
met?
Agenda: An organizational and participant tool!
Responsibilities: Consider, “who will do what to achieve progress?”
Confirmation: Ask people to help plan the agenda and RSVP.
We’ll delve deeper into these topics in the next few slides
The purpose, the participants, and the structure
Purpose: Plan meetings with purpose. Define the purpose or
objective of the meeting. Much of this will come about in the
agenda.
Participant: Who needs to attend this meeting to accomplish the
purpose? It will be crucial for certain people to be at the
meetings in order for the goal to be accomplished or for the
meeting to be “worthwhile.” Consider who you will invite.
Structure: How should the meeting be organized to best
accomplish the purpose? Some techniques may include:
guest speakers, videos, brainstorming sessions, panel sessions,
discussion groups, demonstrations, etc. Whatever technique is
selected, it should have the greatest impact on the participants
to attain the meeting objective.
Location, location, location
Location and Time: Select a meeting place that best matches the
participant's needs, the objective, and the meeting structure. When
planning where to meet, give consideration to size, comfort,
accessibility, adequate parking, room acoustics, equipment needs,
etc.
Choosing a meeting time depends on the availability of participants
and meeting facilities. The anticipated length of the meeting should
also be a factor in deciding when to schedule the meeting.
Keep in mind the calendar for the year and the organization.
Try to stick to a regular meeting pattern. If you must have monthly
meetings, consider holding them on the same day and time each
month. For example, a committee might meet the third Monday of
the month from 5:30 to 6:30. Now, barring any national holidays falling
on that day which beg a rescheduling, every committee member
knows when the meeting will be held.
The agenda!
Agenda: A meeting agenda should be prepared and distributed to
participants at least three days prior to the meeting day. An agenda is crucial
to meeting success in three ways:
1) it clarifies the objectives so people understand the meeting purpose and
tasks;
2) distributing the agenda prior to the meeting helps participants plan and
prepare to make an effective contribution; and
3) during the meeting, the agenda provides direction and focus for the
discussion.
The agenda also sends specific messages to the group members.
Reject the unprepared. An agenda is distributed well in advance. This
demands you think carefully about the issue and come up with
thoughtful responses. This tells everyone, “We will call on you. If you are
not prepared, do not attend.”
What’s that about responsibilities?
Responsibilities: There should be a mutual understanding of not
only the meeting purpose, but also individual assignments and
how they fit into the total program. Those meetings that are more
focused on brainstorming or creativity may require little or no
individual assignments. In task-oriented or policy deciding
meetings, it is best to prepare a written summary of assigned
duties so individuals know what their responsibility is for the
meeting.
Request an RSVP and help to plan the agenda
Confirmation: Planning does take a certain amount of time, however the
burden of planning does not have to fall fully on the leader's shoulders.
The leader is responsible for seeing that the planning gets done, not
necessarily for doing it.
Reach out to members for topics for consideration. You don’t need to
be the only one thinking critically about the next steps for the group.
When you send out the meeting reminder and agenda, ne sure to ask
people to RSVP. You can set a threshold for meeting purposes. If you
are a committee of ten and seven people aren’t able to make it to the
meeting, determine if it is worthwhile for the others to still meet.
Moderate
As the person leading the meeting, you have a specific set of
responsibilities. In addition to being an active participant, you
must:
• Manage Time: Begin on time and end on time. Starting a
meeting late sends the message that it's okay to be late and it
shows a lack of respect and appreciation for those who make
the effort to arrive on time
• Use the Agenda - Continually refer back to the agenda
throughout the meeting to keep discussion centered on the
stated purpose and specified agenda items.
• Monitor participation - Make sure each individual has a fair
chance of expressing ideas and opinions. Of equal importance is
to ensure that quiet participants are expressing their ideas and
opinions. This may require the leader or facilitator to directly call
on the quiet member and ask them for their opinion or for any
ideas they would like to share.
Moderating 101
Eye Contact! According to A. Barbour, author of "Louder Than
Words: Nonverbal Communication," only 7 percent of
communication is what we say — the rest is all in how we say it.
As a meeting facilitator, you can use non-verbal cues not only
to communicate your message but to influence the group
dynamic and make all attendees feel included. When people
speak during meetings, often they'll look at the facilitator. Avoid
their eye contact and look at other members of the group,
which will encourage the speaker to do the same.
Delegate
Delegating tasks is one of the only ways you can survive
being a committee leader. You simply can’t do it all,
and this is where delegating comes in to keep things
running.
If you need further convincing that delegating tasks is
essential, look at the next few slides, and then continue
on to hear learn more about the process.
The many many benefits of delegation (part 1)
Delegating has benefits for you, your committee members, and the
organization you are working on behalf of. The benefits come from
all angles! To start, let’s look at the benefits for you as the leader of
the group.
Benefits to the leader/supervisor
• Makes your job easy and exciting
• Reduces stress and makes you look good.
• Frees you to do what you should be doing
• Develops trust and rapport with your employees
• Grooms your successor so that you can move on to bigger and
better things. Often managers and supervisors derail their own
advancement by not having someone to take their place
Go from
this…
To this…
Not really,
but you get
the idea…
The many many benefits of delegation (part 2)
Now, let’s look at the benefits your delegating has for the group or
committee members, as well as the benefits for the organization.
Benefits to the committee member
• Provides professional growth opportunities
• Develops their professional knowledge and skills
• Elevates their self-image and ultimately self-esteem
• Enhances his/her sense of involvement
• Enhances their confidence and value to the organization
• Brings them personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement
• Gives them opportunities to be involved with decision making
which in turn leads to more commitment and increased morale
Benefits for the organization
• Saves money
• Promotes teamwork
• Brings about professionalism
• Increases productivity and efficiency
Delegating Appropriately
In order to effectively delegate, you need to know WHEN it is appropriate to do so.
Delegation is a win-win when done appropriately, however that does not mean that you can delegate
just anything. To determine when delegation is most appropriate there are five questions you need to
ask yourself:
1. Is there someone else who the ability and information to complete the task?
Essentially is this a task that someone else can do, or is it critical that you do
it yourself?
2. Does the task provide an opportunity to grow and develop another person's
skills?
3. Do you have enough time to delegate the job effectively? Time must be
available for adequate training, for questions and answers, for opportunities
to check progress, and for rework if that is necessary.
4. Is this a task that I should delegate? Tasks critical for long-term success (for
example, recruiting the right people for your team) genuinely do need your
attention.
5. If you can answer "yes" to at least some of the above questions, then it
could well be worth delegating this job.
How do we effectively delegate? Steps 1-3 of 9
Delegation takes many steps.
1: Get in the right frame of mind. A big mental road block to delegation is
that "If you want it done right, then do it yourself." Believe it or not, you're
not the only person in the world who can do it right. They might even do
it faster or better than you.
2: Stop waiting for people to volunteer. You're overwhelmed, and you
wonder why people don't ever offer to help. Some people may offer
help, but you turn them down. And then you wonder why they didn’t
insist upon helping you out.
The bottom line is that it is the rare person who offers help and insists upon
it. For most people, you’ll be forced to specifically ask them to complete
certain tasks.
3: Choose the right person. Assess the skills and the experience of your
employees as objectively as possible. Don’t be too quick to choose the
person who you always know you can depend on. Give an overview of
the assignment including the importance of the assignment and why you
have chosen the employee for the job.
Step 3: Choosing the Right Person
There are a few things to take into account when considering who you will
delegate responsibilities to.
1.What experience, knowledge, and skills does the individual have that
will be useful in completing the delegated task.
2.What is the individual’s preferred style of work? Are they independent?
Do they hope to gain something from this task, and if so, what?
3.What is the individual’s current work load? Does he or she have the
necessary time to devote to the task?
How do we effectively delegate? Steps 4-6 of 9
4: Determine what aspects you are going to delegate. Take the time to
plan how you are going to present the assignment, including your
requirements, parameters, any check-ins, and expectations. It is a good
idea to write down these items and give a copy to your delegate in order
to minimize miscommunication.
5: Delegate the objective, not the procedure. This is the key to not
becoming a nightmare of a micro-manager. Set clear standards for what
kind of results you're looking for, and show the person how you would do it,
but tell them that they can do it any way they want, as long as it's on time.
And give them enough time not only to learn, but also to experiment and
innovate. Don't train them like a robot; train them like a human being-someone who can adapt and improve.
6: Allocate resources necessary to complete the task. You may have
resources available that are necessary to complete the task but the
person given the task may not be able to access them. Be sure to share
these materials. Don't forget that the person is likely time bound too.
How do we effectively delegate? Steps 7-9 of 9
7: Have confidence: The person to whom you delegate might make
mistakes, or they might do just fine. What is important is that you express
to them that you have confidence in their abilities, and assure them that
they may reach out to you for guidance.
Don't delegate a task assuming the person will fail to execute it. If you do
so, you’re not setting that person up for success and you may as well just
continue to do the task on your own
8: Recognize your helper when it counts. Delegating tasks to someone
else is necessary if you are to take on more responsibility. It's
counterproductive when you delegate the task, your helper works hard,
and then you take all the credit. Recognize and praise the efforts of
others on your behalf.
9: Say Thank You. When someone does something for you, it is important
to say thank you, acknowledge the help and let the helper know s/he is
appreciated.
Close the meeting cleanly
Conclude the meeting by summarizing the discussion, decisions made,
tasks delegated, deadlines, and any action required by participants.
Include in the summary any review plans for follow-up or the need to
schedule any succeeding meetings. It is far easier to schedule the next
meeting while everyone is at the table then it is to wait and contact
each participant individually.
If you have regular monthly meetings, use this opportunity to announce
the date that you will all be together again.
Meetings can be fun and productive. It's easy to get caught up in the
pressure of the meeting and lose sight of perspectives. Stress diminishes
creativity and spontaneity and generally lowers the quality of results
achieved by the group. So relax and remember that the best results
come from groups who are able to laugh together and work together
as a team.
Resources
"How to Run an Effective Meeting." Moneywatch. CBS: WBNG, Binghamton, 09 2007. Television.
<http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-51061211/how-to-run-an-effective-meeting/>.
Pittampalli, Al. Read This Before Our Next Meeting: The Modern Meeting Standard. New York: Amazon
Publishing, 2011. eBook.
Rebori, Marlene K. "HOW TO ORGANIZE AND RUN EFFECTIVE MEETINGS." Www.unce.unr.edu. University of
Nevada Cooperative Extension, 2004. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/cd/others/fs9729.pdf>
"Running Effective Meetings: Establishing an Objective and Sticking to It." Mind Tools. Mind Tools, n.d.
Web. 28 Oct 2012. <http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/RunningMeetings.htm>.
Saleem, Hasan. “How to Delegate Effectively.” Leadership. Directory Journal, n.d. Web. 23 June 2007.
15 November 2012. <http://www.dirjournal.com/guides/how-to-delegate-effectively/>
"Successful Delegation: Using the Power of Other People's Help." Mind Tools. Mind Tools, n.d. Web. 28 Oct
2012. <http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_98.htm>.