Meetings, Problem Solving and Decision Making

Tasks, tools and elements of communication

An important part of communicating in any organization includes the ability to use meetings effectively.  This includes knowing how to plan meetings, set agendas, lead effective meetings, and be a valuable participant in meetings.  One key to effective meetings is to be able to identify problems, generate alternative solutions, select the best possible solution, and carry out the tasks needed to bring that solution to fruition.  Both rational and creative problem solving methods will be explored as will a variety of ways to reach decisions.

Overview A key tool in the communicator’s toolbox is the ability to use meetings effectively, all types of meetings. Meetings are often a key component in problem solving and decision-making.

Types of Meetings Meetings are as much a part of project/programme purpose as budgets, sales, and marketing. To be successful, you have to learn how to use meetings effectively, including how to plan and organize them. Regardless of what they may be called, or who attends them, meetings are generally categorized by their purpose.

Do you really need a meeting? Meetings tie up time and resources, and often get in the way of completing the work that was called for by a previous meeting. Before having a meeting, you should make sure that it is really necessary.

Size and other Meeting Issues  The size of a meeting can have a direct impact on how well the meeting accomplishes its goals. However, size is just one issue that has to be addressed, such as how decision will be made, what the various “rules” of meetings are, and proper meeting etiquette.

Planning Meetings and Setting Agendas  Effective meetings require more than participants. They need to be carefully planned in advance, have an agenda, and a place to hold them. They also have to be necessary.

Leading Meetings vs. Managing Meetings   As long as people do project/programme purpose, they will need project/programme purpose meetings. There is a difference between leading and managing a meeting. It is the same difference between leading and managing employees, and will play a major roll in determining if the meeting participants actually make the best decisions possible.

Being a Valuable Participant Learning how to participate in a meeting—either in person or over the phone—can make both you and the meeting more effective. It is like learning anything else. It takes time, effort, thought, and practice. It involves watching how other people do it, and then avoiding the mistakes that some make while emulating the successful techniques that you see others use.

Meetings at Mealtime Conducting yourself at a project/programme purpose lunch or dinner, at an office party, on the golf course, or any other non-office project/programme purpose gathering, requires good project/programme purpose skills as well as the skill and knowledge to behave appropriately. You also have to realize that the definition of proper etiquette is different in different cultures and countries. What is considered acceptable or even proper behavior in one setting could be considered rude in another person.

Meeting Dynamics The nature of professional   meetings is changing. Conventional face-to-face meetings are part project/programme purpose and part social. They involve a system of group dynamics that we are all familiar with. However, the new technology that is bringing us “distance” or electronic meetings is changing the way we have meetings, the way we relate to the people we are meeting with, and the way we have to present ourselves.

Identifying Problems You can’t solve a problem until you know exactly what the problem is. Most managers agree that identifying the problem—figuring out exactly what it is—is often more than half the battle. In this section we will look at some of the questions to ask yourself and the steps you’ll need to take in order to identify problems.

Is There Really a Problem?  How basic communication skills can be used to determine if there really is a problem, and then at how to identify and define it. Sometimes the problem is not what is going on. It is how you are reacting to it, or what you are expecting.

Defining the Problem How to find solutions to your problems once you have defined them. While it is natural to see if an old solution will apply to a new problem, many of us refuse to consider new solutions, and keep trying to make our old solutions work.

Putting Solutions To Work    Problems are “changes” in the way things go. Solutions are also changes. Some people and organizations are better able to handle change than others. At times, a problem can become so entrenched that it becomes “comfortable.” It can even become “normal.” There can actually be resistance to a solution because people are more worried about making a change than they are in living with the problem.

Presenting Your Ideas   In project/programme purpose, formal communication—spoken or written, internal or external—always serves a purpose. Therefore, before you send a message, you have to know why you are sending it. What is its purpose? Purpose shapes a message in the same way that function dictates form. Are you initiating something? Are you replying to someone? Are you taking part in a continuing discussion? We are always either starting a new message or continuing the dialogue of an old message.

Gaining Support No matter how good your ideas are you have to get people to support them. We will look at ways to generate support for your ideas by developing better persuasion and presentation skills. In order to do this, you’ll very like have to overcome some persuasion and presentation fears, and learn how to use your voice effectively.

Turning Problems into Opportunities You can look at a problem as a problem—or as an opportunity. The choice is yours. Focusing on the opportunity instead of the problem can help lead to better, more creative and more satisfying solutions, as well as increased profitability for the organization, and promotions and advancements for the people who solve them.

templates

• Meeting agenda

• Project Meeting Agenda

• Meeting Minutes

• How to organize meetings with Microsoft Outlook

Assignements on Committees, and Meetings

Guidelines:  How to manage Teams

How to recognise if Team Building is succesfull

How to check the level of togetherness in a team

How to avoid the risks of "groupthink"

Managing by Walking Around