Workshops - time waster or value-add?
If you run a workshop or a meeting, do the attendees feel you have delivered value or do they see their time slipping away.
Here are some tips to help you make the most of meeting time.
Many of us who are involved in the world of Transformation and Change programmes, will have run or taken part in workshops. It might be to gather requirements or to design processes or to provide feedback. Or you will have run or taken part in all day team meetings.
We have all spent many hours in these kinds of meetings but I wonder how often the organisers or participants think about the value of the time spent. This set me to thinking about the characteristics of the best workshops or team meetings that I attended and, if you are running a session, how to make sure you get the most out of the group that you have invited. Here are a few of the tips and tricks that I’ve seen working well and some questions to challenge yourself and your meeting attendees.
Why am I here?
The people attending know why they are there. They know what expertise they are bringing, what they are expected to contribute and why. It’s surprising how often people don’t know why they have been asked to join a meeting (especially if they have been asked to delegate for someone else).
Tip 1: Do a quick check round the room or on the call and ask people to say why they are there. If anyone isn’t sure, take a few moments to explore with them why they think they might be there. If they are still not sure, maybe they shouldn’t be there!
Why should I come to the meeting in the first place?
An obvious one - there are clear objectives for the meeting.
Tip: Send out an agenda with the purpose of the meeting and, if time permits, phone up a couple of the key players that will be attending to check if they want to add anything.
What do I want to get out of the meeting?
Clear outcomes. This is closely linked to objectives but I like to get the attendees to write a maximum of 3 outcomes that they want to get from the session on post it notes and stick them on a flip chart (virtual or real).
Will my own objectives be met?
Start the session by running through the objectives and say that you will check at the end to make sure that the objectives have been met. By doing this you will either increase the feel-good factor at the end because you will have confirmed that the objectives have been met, or you will find that there is a need for some further action. Either way, you are providing a ‘review and improve’ opportunity for the session.
What is the style of the meeting?
For any workshop/meeting of several hours, I have found it pays dividends to get the group to set ground rules. This can be done in a fun way with post-its. Get everyone to draw pictures on post-it notes of how they want the session to work. For example - a picture of a pair of ears might be that someone wants everyone to listen with respect when someone else is speaking. Run through what each post-it means and stick them on a flip chart (virtual or real) above a line which is drawn half-way across the page. These become the group ground rules for the session. If at any time someone feels that one of the ground rules is being broken, they raise a hand or move the post-it below the line. The chair or facilitator of the meeting then needs to take a mini time-out to re-set the meeting and get things back on track. The advantage of this approach is that it is done by the people in the meeting - their ground rules not yours.
Please don’t waste my time..
Always have a Car Park area (this may be a ground rule) and encourage topics that are not on the agenda or are becoming ‘rabbit holes’ to be put on the car park for later. Use a flip cart and invite the group at the start of the session to keep each other on track.
If you’d like me to run a really great workshop get in touch or I could run a session to build your own capability. [email protected]
