2.4. Team Meetings

As an Office Administrator, it’s important to understand that team meetings can vary based on their purpose, the leadership style used, and the personality types of team members.

Types of Meetings

• Action Item: Focused on information sharing with minimal discussion.
• Management: Focused on developing and progressing goals.
• Leadership: Reflective and focused on the project’s mission and culture.

Action Item Meetings

Action item meetings are short and focused on understanding the immediate priorities for the project, individual roles, and specific activities. These meetings are for sharing information, not solving problems. If any issues come up, they are assigned to someone, and a separate meeting is scheduled to address them. Action item meetings usually cover activities that need to be completed within a week.

These meetings are fact-based and information-oriented, with minimal dialogue except for clarification questions. If a discussion is needed or disagreements arise, a separate problem-solving meeting is set up. For smaller topics, this follow-up meeting might happen right after the action item meeting and include only those interested in the outcome.

The project manager keeps action item meetings short and focused on the necessary information for the short-term project plan. They restate the priorities and who is responsible for each activity. These meetings can also include reviews of safety or security procedures if relevant to the project. The leadership approach in these meetings focuses on data, actions, and commitments. Any interpersonal issues observed by the project manager are addressed in a different forum.

Management Meetings

Management meetings are longer and focused on planning. These meetings are about developing plans, tracking progress, and making adjustments based on new information.

Purpose of Management Meetings

Management meetings involve discussions to understand the progress of the current plan. These discussions are based on data and the experiences and opinions of project leaders. Disagreements about the data are encouraged to gain a deeper understanding. The goal is to reach a common understanding of the project’s status.

Setting Goals

Management meetings also focus on setting mid-term goals. For larger projects, these goals might be monthly or quarterly. For smaller projects, weekly goals are more common. The project manager leads discussions on what needs to be done to meet project milestones, potential barriers, and key resources needed. The team develops goals that integrate various functions and focus on priorities.

Examples of goals during the conceptual phase include:

• Developing a list of long-lead procurement items and defining critical dates
• Creating a human resources plan to identify critical positions
• Building agreements with the client on the project scope

These goals are measurable and have specific time frames. They serve as positive motivators and are easy to remember.

Monthly Focus

The focus of management meetings may change throughout the month:

• Early in the month: Address progress and barriers to the previous month’s goals
• Mid-month: Develop goals for the next month while working on current goals
• End of the month: Focus on the next month’s goals to keep the team goal-oriented

Identifying Obstacles

Management meetings are also opportunities to identify obstacles to achieving goals. The team reallocates resources or develops alternative methods to overcome these obstacles. The project manager encourages finding solutions and avoids blaming individuals.

Leadership Meetings

Leadership meetings are held less frequently and are longer. These meetings allow the project manager to reflect on the project, explore larger issues, and step back from day-to-day problem-solving. The focus is on the people aspects of the project, such as relationships with clients, vendors, and the project team.

Purpose of Leadership Meetings

Leadership meetings create a safe environment for sharing thoughts and evaluations on less data-oriented issues. These meetings are more creative and focus on the project’s mission and culture. Discussions may also include perceptions from upper management and the community.

Meeting Atmosphere

The project manager’s skill in managing meetings includes creating the right atmosphere for each type of discussion. Action item meetings are used for data and fact-based discussions. For creative and open-ended discussions, leadership meetings are appropriate. Mixing meeting purposes can make it difficult to maintain the right kind of conversation.

Other types of project meetings include problem-solving, vendor evaluation, and scheduling meetings. Understanding the different types of meetings and creating the right focus for each is a critical project management skill.

“Chapter 16: Working with Individuals and Teams” from NSCC Project Management by NSCC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.