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How to Lead an Effective Meeting(Aka: “It’s game day and you’re the quarterback”)

David Halpern, DMD, FAGD, FACDPrivate Practice, Columbia, Md2009-10 AGD President

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Format for session:• Meeting Basics• Facilitating agenda management,

discussion, sequencing, and gaining consensus

• Identifying types of potential “issues or obstacles” to effective meetings

• Additional topics

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Parliamentary procedure(Sturgis is your friend but don’t get hung up on it!)

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Complex is confusing!!“I move to amend the resolution by deletion of the second clause, adding the word “and” where “or” is, and to strike through lines 56 through 125”

“I have a point of personal privilege related to a point of order relative to the substituted resolution needing reconsideration”

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Simpler is better!“I move that the minutes be accepted”

“I move that the budget as presented be accepted”

“I move that we allocate $250 for beer and pizza for our next meeting”

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Before you initiate any meeting…….you need to know your objectives

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Possible Objectives• Fulfilling an obligation to the bylaws• Status reports• Planning programs• Responding to issues• Brainstorming ideas/strategic

planning• Communications updates• Decisions to be made• Whine and dine

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Components of any meeting• Notice• Agenda, agenda, agenda• Quorum• Time management• Minutes

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Components of any meeting• Reports• Budget – project/program

driven• Background information :

knowledge-based decision-making• Resolutions versus issues

discussions• Follow-up (metrics, timelines,

updates)

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Board Norms (aka: ground rules)

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You, or your designee have a role in any meeting

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Your Role• Know the agenda “cold”• Make sure all background info has

been provided to the attendees• Know your attendees

• Know your objectives

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Your Role• You are the facilitator, you are the

arbitrator, you are the director of traffic, you are the guide, you have purview over all attendees even other officers, you are the tie breaker.

• You are NOT the dictator, ……NOT the “my way or the highway” commandant!!!

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Potential issues or obstacles• Waning energy or unresponsiveness• Over-talkers or someone dominating

the discussion• Non-participation• Insertion of personal agendas or

talking off subject

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Potential issues or obstacles• Attacking, criticizing, or engaging in

argumentative behavior• Indecisiveness• Side conversations, clowning, or

“extracurricular” activities• Out of control time

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So now it’s time to play ………What would you do????You notice that there is low participation and/or energy in discussion, body language of meeting participants staring off in space or slumping in their seats, what do you do?

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1.Ask the group what is going on?2.Increase your own energy,

animation, pace, voice inflection?

3.Take a short break?4.Ask the group what it would like

to do?5.Pack your bag and leave the

meeting with everyone just sitting there?

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Joe Overbearing has been talking about ways he thinks the budget deficit should be handled and when others try to speak, he interrupts them and continues to dominate the discussion. What would you do?

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1. Stop Joe Overbearing, thank him, and say you’d like to hear from someone else?2. Call attention to the agenda and time frames?3. Stop giving him the focus of your attention?4. Summarize what he has said and move to someone else?5. Give him a time limit? Or remind him that you had set ground rules for the group at the beginning of the meeting regarding “air time”?6. Stuff a sock in his mouth or have someone “accidentally” spill a cup of water on his head?

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You notice that Mary Overlyquiet has not said anything or contributed to any discussion during the meeting, what would you do?

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1. Talk to her privately during a break or after the meeting and find out why?

2. Call on her by name “Mary I would like to hear your thoughts on this?”

3. Thank her when she does contribute.4. Turn to her when you reach part of the

agenda that you know she can contribute to.5. On key issues, go around the room and have

each person offer brief input to stimulate discussion.

6. Have her drink from Joe Overbearing’s water glass?

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In the middle of a report of the legislative liaison for the board on a bill proposed regarding students getting reduced loan interest rates, Tom Tangent starts ranting about midlevel providers and how hygienists want to have independent practices and why isn’t ASDA sending letters to the Congress about this? What would you do?

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1. Ask him to relate what he is saying to the current agenda item?

2. Record the point, thank him, and move back to the issue.

3. Stop him, tell him his points are somewhat applicable to the current issue, but to bring it up under a different part of the agenda or record it on a ”parking lot” sheet for new business discussion.

4. Ask the group what they want to do with the Tom’s points?

5. Say to Tom Tangent: “Excuse me, but are you picking up radio signals from some other meeting?”

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During the membership chair’s report, Harry Hostile starts saying that our low retention and loss of members is unacceptable, the organization is going down the tubes, and what the heck has the membership chair been doing this whole year to get new members? What would you do?

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1. Acknowledge his point of view.2. Stop him, paraphrase his view, and ask the

chair to continue.3. Point out the negative pattern and ask if

there is any part of the report he feels good about?

4. Ask him to express his opinion briefly on what he thinks should be done to improve membership retention and recruitment?

5. Ask the group to respond to Harry Hostile’s comments.

6. Ask him if he has a problem with how we’re doing things we can settle it outside.

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After the treasurer has presented the proposed budget and asks for discussion, you notice that committee members You and Tube are looking at their laptops and chuckling, Teresa Twitter is checking her iPhone 5s, and Sam Sidebar and Will Whisper are talking to each other and obviously not paying attention to the treasurer. What would you do?

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1. Invite Sidebar and Whisper to share what they are talking about.

2. Stop the treasurer, be quiet and look directly at You and Tube, point out that whispering or talking is distracting, and then ask them to please join the group in listening to the treasurer.

3. Tell Theresa if she needs to check her phone for messages she should do so at breaks and to inform her “peeps” that she is in a meeting and to refrain from texting her unless absolutely necessary.

4. Stop the meeting, indicate the importance of the discussion and why you are all giving up time to be at the meeting instead of studying or doing lab work and confirm everyone’s understanding.

5. Have the offenders type a hundred times on their iPads: “I will behave during the meeting, and pay attention”

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You have designated a two hour maximum time frame for the meeting and you notice that an hour and a half has gone by and you are only halfway through the agenda, what would you do?

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1. Talk faster2. Ask someone to get some coffee, tell the meeting

attendees that it is going to be a long night.3. Tell everyone that they only have ten seconds

when they speak on the remaining issues.4. Fire yourself for being a lousy meeting facilitator!5. Explain the situation to the group and indicate

that you will be going out of order in the agenda and going to those areas definitively needing action, and deferring the rest to either a conference call or the next meeting.

6. Ask the group if they would like to cover as much of the remaining agenda as possible and extend the meeting by a half hour.

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Key Points to remember• Agenda, agenda, agenda with

timelines if possible!• Be sure to have ground rules/norms

for participation and ask the group to self-monitor. Remind them of the agreed upon norms when someone is out of line.

• Facilitate discussion by asking questions of the group and directing them to the needed objective

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Key Points to remember• Don’t do committee work, don’t do

committee work, don’t do committee work (unless you are it)

• Compliment as much as possible, legitimize feelings and perceptions, but focus on specific desired behaviors

• Don’t meet just to meet!!!• Follow up on assignments and

decisions made

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Alternative meetings:• GoToMeeting®, GlobalMeet®,

LiveMeeting®• Skype®• Web chat rooms• Email• Phone conference calls

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Don’t get trapped into a vicious cycle…….

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Questions???

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Practice Management Tip• Hold daily huddles to address routine issues that

can cause rifts, such as placement of emergency patients both today and tomorrow.   

• Schedule regular meetings with staff and follow a specific written agenda. – During meetings, require each employee to report on the system(s)

they are accountable for. – Discuss what is happening with each specific system – scheduling,

accounts receivable, recall, etc. – Identify constructive strategies for addressing any concerns that arise

related to the performance of specific systems. – Assign deadlines and delegate responsibility to individual staff to

pursue the problem solving strategies that have been identified.

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Resources• http://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/5

-alternatives-to-time-wasting-meetings.html

• http://www.ehow.com/how_15346_hold-online-meeting.html

• http://www.ehow.com/info_8626622_live-meeting-alternatives.html

• http://ezinearticles.com/?Staff-Meeting-Alternatives&id=1009725