A Project Manager’s Guide to Successful Meetings

Love them or hate them, the running of project meetings is a big part of any project manager’s role. You might find this a worrying idea at first but there are some simple tips which can help you run successful and productive meetings. 　Here are some of the best ones to get you started.

Turn Up On Time

You weren’t thinking of sauntering in a few minutes late, were you? I am sure that you weren’t but you definitely can’t forget the importance of your presence at these meetings and the image you need to give out. Apart from these points, getting there a bit early will mean that you can settle down and think about the meeting before it all kicks off. I like to get there about 10 minutes early to check out the conferencing facilities and anything else which might need to be sorted. If the meeting room is far away I would build in some extra contingency to ensure I don’t turn up late.

Know What You Want

Not every meeting can result in ground shaking results but you should at least know what you want before each one starts. This is a very important point when you get to the sharp end of the project but it is equally worth bearing in mind at any stage. You might simply want to get to the end of the meeting with any problems in some cases and this is fine provided that you have the objective clear in your head. If you enter that meeting room without knowing what you are after then you are leaving yourself open to running into problems. Sometimes all you will have to do it think clearly for a few minutes before leaving your office but this thinking time could make all the difference.

Get Clear Action Items

Most meetings end up with action items being drawn up. However, it isn’t always clear who needs to do what and by when. I usually ask one of my team members to note down the action items and to run through them at the end of the meeting. These then get added to the minutes and then onto the agenda for the next project meeting. By doing this you will probably always have a list of outstanding action points on your agendas. This might look a bit messy but it is a good way of keeping on top of everything which needs done instead of running the risk of forgetting what people have agreed to do.

Get People Involved

A lot of stakeholders don’t really like going to project meetings. There are different reasons for this apathy but it is fair to say that in a lot of cases they just don’t feel as though they have much chance of getting involved. If you are going to go to the bother of inviting people and they make the effort of turning up then you should be sure to get them involved. Some stakeholders are simply quieter than others when it comes to making their feelings known but you need to make it clear that everyone is entitled to make their voice heard. Going round the table and asking people for their individual opinions on a one by one basis might seem a bit too much like being in school but it can work. 　Some people only need one opportunity to get involved for them to feel more confident about participating and speaking up in the future.

Enjoy Them

After those previous points it might seem a bit weird to say that you should try to enjoy the meeting. However, what else can you do? You are going to run a lot of project meetings in your career and if you don’t find a way of enjoying them then they could turn into your worst nightmare. I suppose that we each need to find our own ways of enjoying these meetings. I like to try and get a bit of fun into them and I always encourage presentations and anything which is a break from just sitting around and talking. You shouldn’t be afraid of trying new things and looking for interesting ways to get more out of the experience. The people who are your stakeholders will largely define how formal or informal you can be but in my experience no one really has any problems with a more laid back approach as long as you are serious about the issues which you need to be serious about.

I Just Got a New Project – Now What?

To me a new project means finding out new things, rising to new challenges and reacting to new situations. I have always enjoyed all of these things so sticking to the same type of job year after year was never going to be a good long term option for me. Instead, I found that the project management role gave me the ideal way of switching from one thing to another with every new project given to me. So what should you do when you are given a brand new piece of work?

Don’t Panic

Ok, so you are given a few documents and none of them make sense. They talk about processes you have never heard of, people you don’t know and acronyms which make no sense. Relax. After you have done some research everything will become clear. Once you have worked on a few different projects you will be a lot calmer about this stage but at the beginning of your project career it can be terrifying. You may get the odd project which you are comfortable with right away but if you want a long career in the role you will need to get used to being given information which at first glance appears to have been written in Esperanto.

Find Out What It Is About

I have always found that taking on the new information in bite sized chunks is the best way for me to absorb as much as possible quickly. After a while you will no doubt find your own way of doing this which suits you. The important point is that you take your time and learn what you need to know in a calm fashion. This is the stage of the project when you should look to ask the silly questions and avoid making assumptions. What you find out at this point will be the basis for your knowledge throughout the project so there is no sense in trying to skip through this process as quickly as you can.

Locate the People

Who are the stakeholders? Who will your project team be and who will be assigned each task? The people aspect of the project is a huge issue and it is worth thinking about right away. Getting the buy in of the stakeholders early on is a smart move and to do this you could consider getting them involved before things really kick off. You will probably have more spare time and be more relaxed at the beginning of the project so this is a great time to make contact with the right people and start talking. You shouldn’t assume that the list of contacts given you at the start is comprehensive. This is merely a starting point for your investigations in most cases.

Think About the Plan

The project plan is something you are either keen to get stuck into or something you are putting off for as long as possible. In either case it makes a good deal of sense to start to think about this long before you need to draw it up. With a bit of experience in the job you will begin to visualize the project plan in your head but until that happens you will need to start taking down notes. Once the project fully kicks off and you are kept busy it will be difficult to remember all of the thoughts you had earlier on so noting them down somewhere is essential.

Get the Organization Right

There are a lot of little tasks which are easier to do at the beginning than during the project. These include setting up folders on the computer, making sure everyone has access to the right folders and making sure that your office is up to scratch. You might want to delegate this work to someone else but the important thing is that someone does it. A lot of experienced project managers also have tried and trusted spreadsheets and checklists which just need to be updated for the new piece of work. This is also a good time to think about any training needs for you and your team. Will this project have something different about it which justifies learning new skills before you start it? Not every new project is a step into the unknown but if there is something new there then it is best to face up to it right away.