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Don't make all the arrangements yourself; it's your team's
meeting. Let the members decide what they want to discuss,
where to meet, and when. Rotate the chair and any other
official duties among all the members.
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Don't pass judgment or comment on members' remarks and ideas.
Acting like an expert or critic destroys team spirit, inhibits
discussion, and shows that you still see yourself as an
authority figure instead of a facilitator.
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Don't act like you have all the answers. Teams collaborate
on problems and produce consensus solutions. You may
coordinate, facilitate, and participate, but don't behave like
an expert.
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Don't be confrontational. Demanding that people defend
their ideas and opinions when they conflict with yours reveals
an autocratic "I'm paid to think and you're paid to work" mind
set.
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Don't use the same meeting management techniques as used by
managers in traditional organizations. New roles call for
new techniques. Old ways won't work in team-oriented
organizations.
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Don't feel compelled to assert or maintain control over the
meeting. Surviving in a team-based organization means
accepting and operating with greatly diminished control. That
requires you to change mental gears and adopt an entirely new
perspective.
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Don't let team members pass the buck to you. Refuse to
play the role of supreme commander or resolve issues that are
best left to your team.
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Do
prepare for the meeting. Make notes, review and reflect on
the team-produced agenda, gather important materials, reserve
a room if necessary, and requisition and test-run any
audiovisual equipment.
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Think of yourself as a participant, coordinator, and general
guide. You may have to arrange for the room and equipment,
but it's not your job to "call a meeting" or "run it" in the
traditional sense.
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Encourage devil's advocates. People who have the courage
to swim against the current by questioning, challenging, or
contradicting the majority are very valuable to a team. They
strike a blow against group think. Don't play devil's advocate
yourself, however.
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Use visual aids that dramatize group progress and performance.
Let team members themselves develop and update these materials
before each meeting, and have them take turns presenting and
summarizing what the visual aids show.
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Draw people out with open-ended questions. Use prompting
remarks, such as "How do you feel about?," "Tell us more," or
"We all need to hear what you think."
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Tape-record the discussion. Analyze your conduct and
comments. See if you're coming across to your people the way a
true team leader should, and earmark areas for improvement.
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Provide closure. The meeting should leave members with a
sense of accomplishment. You might ask, "What have we decided
to do?" but let team members confirm closure by summarizing
action items, schedules, and what subjects should be carried
forward to the next meeting.
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Summarize your thoughts and impressions in writing after each
meeting. Use this information, along with your audiotape,
to identify which aspects of the meeting went smoothly, which
ones did not, and what you might do differently next time.
