Peg Carlson, PhD NCCCMA Summer Seminar June 19,2015

1. What are your biggest challenges running meetings? 2. What is one skill you would like to take away from today’s session?

Learn and practice meeting facilitation skills to help participants:  Stay focused  Build on shared interests  Reach decisions that people are committed to implementing

1. Frame topics as questions that need to be answered. Instead of “Office space reallocation”: Under what conditions, if any, should we reallocate office space? Instead of “Update on proposed sales tax redistribution”: What are the implications of the proposed sales tax redistribution legislation for our county?

2. Note purpose of each topic.  To share information  To get input  To make decision

3. Estimate time needed for each topic. Do the math...  Number of participants?  Purpose of meeting?  Complexity of topic?

4. Identify person responsible for leading each topic.

 Think of a recent meeting you attended where the purpose of the discussion wasn’t clear.  Rewrite the topic as a question to be answered.  Share your rewrite at your table and discuss how/whether this would have helped.

What typically happens in a meeting when someone makes a comment that you or others see as off-track?

Format for testing your inference: “(Name), a minute ago the group was discussing ___A___, and you said ____B____.” “I don’t see how ___A___ is related to ___B___, but I might be missing something.” “Can you say how your comment is related, or if it isn’t, can we decide which topic to discuss now?”

Scenario: You are in a meeting discussing the budget for employee training and professional development in FY ‘ One participant comments that everyone in his department requests vacation leave at the same time. Take turns practicing what you would say to this participant and get feedback from others at your table.

We need weekly recycling No, we need biweekly What should the solution be?

Weekly Bi-weekly So, should we pick up weekly or bi-weekly?

Weekly Bi-weekly Well, this isn’t getting us anywhere

I want us to provide a high level of customer service I want us to be good stewards of our tax dollars What about your solution is important to you?

Hmm. Let me think about this for a minute. What solution can we come up with that meets both of your interests?

1.Identify Interests “Regardless of the specifics of any solution we develop, it needs to be one that…” 2.Agree on interests to consider “Are there any interests that you think should not be taken into account when developing solutions?” 3.Craft solutions that meet interests “Let’s see if we can come up with solutions that meet all of our interests.” 4.If necessary, revisit assumptions then set priorities “What unnecessary assumptions are we making that prevent us from coming up with a solution?” “Which interests are more important to meet?”

Scenario: Your team is deciding whether to outsource printing or keep it in-house. People have different positions on the issue. Practice as a group with one person in facilitator role, using the steps on the previous slide to help people identify interests and brainstorm solutions.

 Schwarz, Roger. How to Design an Agenda for an Effective Meeting. On Harvard Business Review website: an-agenda-for-an-effective-meeting an-agenda-for-an-effective-meeting  Schwarz, Roger. Dealing with Team Members Who Derail Meetings. On Harvard Business Review website: team-members-who-derail-meetings team-members-who-derail-meetings