Effective Meetings- An Important Element of Extension Management

District Extension Administrators and County Extension Directors spend so much time in meetings that turning meeting time into sustained results should be a priority. Meetings are poor use of time if they don’t result in some type of tangible impacts such as a strategic plans, performance management goals for agents, professional development plans, agent professional development plans, effective program interpretation plans, or better County program teamwork, etc. Actions that make meetings successful require management before, during, and after the meeting.

Take these meeting management actions to guide meeting attendees to achieve expected, positive, and constructive outcomes.

Before the Meeting to Ensure Effective Meetings

Actions taken by District Extension Administrators or County Extension Directors before the meeting establishes the groundwork for accomplishing meeting results. District Extension Administrators or County Extension Directors can do all of the needed follow-up, but without an effective meeting plan to start, the results will be disappointing.

  • Plan the Meeting- Effective meetings that produce results, begin with meeting planning. First, identify whether other employees are needed to help you plan the meeting. Then, decide what you hope to accomplish by holding the meeting. Establish goals for your meeting. The goals you set will establish the framework for an effective meeting plan. As Stephen Covey says in the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “Begin with the end in mind.” Your meeting purpose will determine the meeting focus, the meeting agenda, and the meeting participants.
  • Make Sure You Need a Meeting- Once District Extension Administrators or County Extension Directors have developed a meeting plan, ensure that a meeting is the appropriate vehicle for accomplishing the set goals. Scheduling and holding a meeting is expensive when you account for the time of the people attending. So, make efforts to determine that a meeting is the best opportunity to solve the problem, improve the process, or make an ongoing plan. You may find that you can accomplish the meeting goals utilizing Centra, a teleconference or by distributing and requesting information through the District Extension Administrator/County Extension Directore newsletter.
  • Ensure Appropriate Participation at the Meeting- If a meeting is the appropriate means to accomplish goals, check with the participants who must attend for the meeting to succeed. The needed attendees must be available to attend the meeting.
  • Distribute and Review Pre-work Prior to the Meeting- How many meetings have you attended that started out with the meeting facilitator passing out a ream of handouts or projecting a Microsoft PowerPoint slide for discussion? The meeting becomes a group read-in, hardly productive for goal accomplishment. You can make meetings most productive and ensure results by providing necessary pre-work in advance of the actual meeting. Providing pre-work and reading material 48 hours before a meeting affects meeting success. Pre-work distributed in a timely manner, with the expectation that attendees will read the pre-work before the meeting, helps ensure meeting success.

During the Meeting to Ensure Effective Meetings

Effective use of meeting time builds enthusiasm for the topic. It generates commitment and a feeling of accomplishment from the participants. People feel part of something bigger than their day-to-day challenges. Therefore, a well-facilitated, active meeting, that sets the stage for follow-up, will produce meeting results.

  • Effective Meeting Facilitation-The meeting leader sets a positive, productive tone for interaction among the meeting participants. Effective meeting facilitation starts with a review of the goals, or anticipated outcomes, and the agenda. The facilitator helps group members stay focused and productive. Meeting design and the agenda set the framework for the meeting. An effective facilitator, who keeps participants on track, ensures the accomplishment of expected, desired results from the meeting.
  • Use the Pre-work in the Meeting-Use or reference the pre-work and other information supplied prior to the meeting during the meeting. You reinforce the need for participants to spend the time needed upfront to review material that is integral to accomplishing the desired results.
  • Involve Each Participant in Actions-Every group has various personalities that show up for meetings. You have quiet coworkers and people who try to dominate every platform. Whether facilitating or attending the meeting, you need to involve each attendee in the accomplishment of the meeting goals. This ensures that each participant is invested in the topic of the meeting and in the follow-up. You’ll accomplish more results with the whole team pulling than with one dominant person trying to push everyone else up the hill.

Create Effective Meeting Follow-up Plan

During the meeting, make a follow-up plan with action items. Effective plans include:

  1. The specific action item,
  2. The name of the person who committed to “owning” the accomplishment of the action item,
  3. The due date of the action item,
  4. An agreement about what constitutes completion of the action item.

Discuss real life scenarios and barriers to success that participants may experience as they try to accomplish the items that will produce the required results. Set a time for your next meeting, if needed, while participants are in attendance.

After the Meeting to Ensure Effective Meetings

Actions and planning before and during the meeting play a big role in helping you achieve expected, positive, and constructive outcomes. Your actions following the meeting are just as crucial. Follow-up at the next scheduled meeting is never enough of an investment to ensure results.

  • Publish Meeting Minutes- Begin by publishing your minutes and action plan within 24 hours. People will most effectively contribute to results if they get started on action items right away. They still have a fresh memory of the meeting, the discussion and the rationale for the chosen direction. They remain enthusiastic and ready to get started. A delay in the distribution of minutes will hurt your results since most people wait for the minutes to arrive before they begin to tackle their commitments.
  • Effective Meeting Follow-up- Respecting and observing deadlines and follow-up will help you achieve results from your meetings. The deadline was established during the meeting. Following the meeting, each person with an action item should also make a plan for their personal accomplishment of their commitment. Whether they write the steps in their planner, delegate the tasks to another staff person, or just complete the task, the individual is responsible for follow-up.
  • Accountability for Follow-up during the Next Meeting- Have you ever sat in a follow-up meeting that consisted of each participant telling the group why they were unable to accomplish their commitment? Establishing the norm or custom of accountability for results begins early in your meeting cycle. Follow-up by the facilitator mid-way between meetings helps, but the group must make failure to keep commitments unacceptable. Report on progress and outcomes at the next meeting and expect that all will have been accomplished. Alternatively, check progress at the next meeting and if there is a real roadblock to progress, determine how to proceed.

Results are achievabl
e and predictable from
well-planned and implemented meetings. These recommendations will ensure that meetings achieve expected, positive, and constructive outcomes from the time invested in meetings.

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