Agile Notes (No. 63)

Closing a Meeting

Hello, hello, hello! Welcome new subscribers!

We are winding down our deep dive into the incredibly helpful Collaboration Explained by Jean Tabaka. Seriously, maybe only 1 or 2 posts on it to go. This week, we are moving on to Chapter 20: Closing the Collaborative Meeting.

Closing a meeting might be the hardest part. Even if you have the discipline of budgeting 5 minutes at the end of every call to run through a re-cap, there is always one last point to discuss. Or there is that person that wants to open up a last-minute rabbit-hole. Attendees try to rush off to their next meeting. Re-direct those diversions appropriately and proceed to wrapping things up.

Review the Agenda and Purpose. Did we discuss and come to consensus on everything we planned? Ask the team. Do we need a second (or third) call to touch on the parts we did not get to?

I think Celebrate the Work should be first or even last on this list. If it was a good meeting - yes, yes…I know “good” is subjective. If you met at least some of the Agenda/Purpose - that’s a good meeting. You can also reserve this step for last. Celebrate when all the steps have been checked off. THANK the team for their work. You can go so far as to call out people that really stood out with their collaborative skills. :)

Honestly, I am a little unsure about the Personal Objectives part of this. I feel like Personal Objectives should be rolled into the Meeting Purpose/Agenda. If the Product Manager has something they need they should have put it on the Agenda.

Check the Parking Lot. Review the list item by item. Ask the team if it has been addressed, is no longer relevant or if it needs to be addressed further. If an item still needs to be addressed, you have to figure out next steps right then and there.

Run through the Action Items one last time. This is a good practice. Do you have the Action documented correctly? Do you have an Owner - a SINGLE Owner that is IN THE ROOM? Do you have a definite delivery date/due date?

Part of the Action Items/Action Plan should be Communicating out the work that was done in the Meeting. Who needs to know? Is it just getting the Meeting Notes out? Are there additional people or teams that need to know or maybe just like visibility into the work? Does a wiki or Sharepoint site need updates? Does formal Documentation need to be created or updated?

Lastly, Reflect on the meeting. This could be with the participants if it is appropriate. Or, it could be just yourself. What went well? What needs to be changed for next time? Do you need to personally follow up with anyone? Schedule the follow up meetings. And start all over again. :)

Rinse.

Repeat.

What about about you? Do you have anything you think we should add? Have you found success using these tools? Are you seeing challenges with getting your Team to collaborate?

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