Renovating The Weekly Team Meeting Part 4

“Give everyone a chance to place their PostIts on the flipcharts and then review what the group placed on each one.  Once you’ve reviewed them all, please stand in front of the DURING flipchart and I’ll know we’re ready to proceed.”  Robyn stepped back and watched the team get down to business.

 A while later the BEFORE flipchart had several tan 5×7 PostIts beneath it, the DURING flipchart had pale yellow 5×7 PostIts beneath it and the AFTER flipchart had pale green ones.  “Amy,” Robyn said, “you’re going to walk the team through the items under the BEFORE flipchart.  After each one has been read off, have the team decide which items must occur before the meeting in order for the meeting to be productive.  Please begin.”

 Amy nodded.  “All right; we have the following items:

• List of Projects
• Figure out who’s responsible for leading client revisit projects
• Current Status of Projects
• Potential Projects
• Status on Project from each Team
• Updated Delivery Dates (they need to be highlighted so impact on ability to meet final due date can be assessed)
• Requests for Information
• Requests for Staffing
• Budget Updates
• Upcoming Scheduled Time Off
• Contact Info for People Working Offsite

– To be Continued
Next Episode: Information Needed Before the Meeting Part 1

Renovating The Weekly Team Meeting Part 3

“I’m so glad to hear that all of you have managed to keep Friday’s spirit and momentum alive!” Robyn told them.  “Let’s move to Step 2.  What information, decisions, discussions do you need to have BEFORE the meeting in order for the during meeting stuff to happen or be more effective?”  Robyn had passed out tan 5×7 PostIts to each person as she spoke.

 Minutes later Robyn passed out pale green 5×7 PostIts while asking “What actions, decisions, information and/or discussions do you need to take place AFTER the weekly leadership team meeting for your functional group to be able to do its job effectively, correctly and meeting the Service Level Agreements and quality standards?”  She paused.

 “Now I want you to take a 3×5 PostIt from the pad I just placed in front of you.  For each item in your Before, During, and After pile, write on a 3×5 PostIt who you think should be doing or providing that action, information, decision, or discussion.  Stick the 3×5 on the bottom of the larger PostIt.

 When you’re ready, you can start placing your PostIts on the appropriate flipchart.”  Robyn had added a BEFORE flipchart to the far left of the DURING one and an AFTER flipchart to the far right.

– To be Continued
Next Episode: Renovating The Weekly Team Meeting Part 4

Cherish Your Life

I always get reflective as August 23rd approaches.  See there was a woman named Jacquelyne whose birthday was August 23rd.  I use ‘was’ because she died in 2004, shortly before her 35th birthday.

I literally had known her since my birth.  She was my cousin and we were paired together as we were so close in age.  We had a love/hate relationship as children and went our separate ways as preteens.  But she was a fixture in my life.  I thought we would be come like our grandmother and her sister, Aunt Thelma.  Very different, sometimes fussing at and about one another but always a part of one another’s lives in some way.

Then came the cancer diagnosis.  But she got better.  But it returned and metastisized.  But she’d be okay, right?  After all my Mom had beat it twice and Jackie was so much younger. 

I was on my first business trip for JP Morgan Chase when my Mom called me with the news Jackie had died.  It struck me like a sledgehammer to my heart.  I was very dissatisfied with the direction my career was taking and other aspects of my life.  If I knew I only had 2 or 3 years left to live, would I want my life to be like this when I died? NO!!!!!!

That was the beginning of my defining what business success and personal joy mean to me.  I started a journey which sees me today sitting in a hotel room in Brea, California typing on a mini-laptop on Sunday while on a consulting assignment.

I have come to take MUCH better care of my body and while I miss the money I made (and the steady check and benefits) at JPMorgan Chase my life is so much richer and fuller.  I haven’t hit the bull’s eye – still single and I have chosen to not have a family unless I marry – in terns of business success and personal joy but the arrows are within the target range.

So cherish your life.  Don’t get caught up in the crap about cellphones, wii’s, cars, clothes.  Don’t feel you must do for your relatives and friends who make poor choices and then want you to bail them out.  Live joyfully; harming no one and investing love and talent back into this needy world.  God made you for a purpose.  Fulfill it while you’re here.

Karen

Renovating The Weekly Team Meeting Part 2

As the leadership team worked on their task Robyn placed a flipchart page labeled DURING in the center of the front wall.  A few minutes later the group was ready to continue.  “What next?” Bobbi asked.

“You’re really getting into this!” Deja teased her.

“Yeah, well we’re dangerous when we get serious!” she retorted.

“True; we do have the makings of a kick butt leadership team.” Evan agreed.

“Just look at how we came together and started making headway on Friday.” added Matia.  “I don’t know about you but I’ve been thinking about what we did and using the first hour of the day to work on my next step action items before I get drawn into the BAU madness!”

Deja responded “I’ve been coming in earlier to do some planning and calculating before my guys come in and carry me away.”

“I’ve shared some of my action items with my team.  They’ve been very positive and have come up with good ideas.”  Evan shared.

“I’ve been working on my action items and speaking with my PMs to get ideas and see how they may be able to assist and take on new or different responsibilities.”  Bobbi said.

– To be Continued
Next Episode: Renovating The Weekly Team Meeting Part 3

Renovating The Weekly Team Meeting Part 1

Matia cleared her throat halfway through the weekly leadership team meeting. ”Have you noticed?  This meeting is business as usual.  We didn’t incorporate anything from Friday’s offsite into our agenda.  It feels like we’re falling back into our old pattern.”

“Agreed.” said Bobbi.

“How do we change it?” Deja asked.

“What do we need to do differently?” Evan asked.

All eyes turned to Robyn.  “We could use a little help here.” Amy pleaded.

          Robyn laughed and rose from where she was seated to the right and a bit removed from the conference table.  “The length of the meeting was actually extended by 30 minutes so you could discuss what is and isn’t working for you,” she began “but since you’ve brought it up, let’s deal with it now.”  Robyn walked around the table giving Amy, Deja, Bobbi, Evan and Matia a stack of pale yellow 5×7 PostIts.

“Give yourself a couple of minutes to think then write down, 1 item per PostIt, the types of activities, information sharing, discussions, decisions, planning, strategizing and such you need to take place during the weekly leadership team meeting so your functional team can keep producing results.”

– To be Continued
Next Episode: Renovating The Weekly Team Meeting Part 2

Robyn Debriefs Amy, Part 2

“I see.”  Robyn said.  “You know the approach use during the offsite was predicated on the fact that your managers are highly competent subject matter experts.  And they’ve all worked in their areas at other companies where they were most likely exposed to standard practices, if not best ones. 

What I uncovered through my conversations and observations is that process management, process definition, people management and personal effectiveness are the key areas for development for your leadership team.  Customer service is also an area for growth from the perspective of staying attuned to the voice of the customer and refining your products, services and processes in a proactive manner based on what you’re hearing.

Are you ready to discuss next steps?”  Robyn asked.

“Sure; it’d be good to be able to mull over it during the weekend.”  Amy replied.

***

The Office on the Go’s Sales & Implementation Division leadership team returned to the office on Monday to find a summary of the offsite outcomes, Robyn’s assessment report and a list of their action items in their Inbox.  Amy’s directs had debriefing calls with Robyn as well.

– To be Continued

Robyn Debriefs Amy, Part 1

Towards the end of the day, Amy and Robyn had a phone conversation to conduct a debrief of the leadership team offsite.

“So Amy,” Robyn said, “how do you feel the offsite went?”

“I was really amazed at the way my managers got involved in the meeting and started talking about what they could do to improve the division.”  Amy answered.

“It sounds like you were expecting a certain type of behavior or outcome.  Would you mind telling me what you were anticipating?”  Robyn queried.

“No, not at all.  Frankly I was nervous about how this would go and grateful that you were basically going to chair this rather than having me conduct it as the Division Manager.  I was expecting there to be hostility between my managers and towards me.  I figured they wouldn’t want to engage in this process and that they’d view you as an outsider who was both criticizing them and telling them how to do their jobs.  It was incredible to see them so open.  And I never in a million years would have expected Matia to say that to me.  I really respect her expertise and I thought she couldn’t stand me!”

– To be Continued
Next Episode: Robyn Debriefs Amy, Part 2

Leadership Team Offsite Wrap Up

After a short break the Office on the Go Sales & Implementation Division leadership team recapped their next steps, put due dates around them and closed out the offsite with lunch.  Robyn, the offsite facilitator, ended with “I’ll be available to each of you as you take the outcomes of this offsite and start breaking them into subtasks and projects. 

A quick reminder:  The due dates that you’ve set are what you consider to be reasonable timeframes for coming up with a plan or solution.  You won’t necessarily know how long it will take to implement your plan or solution right now.  Research and further definition may be your first step. 

You’re also just learning to work together as a leadership team.  Think of yourselves as having training wheels on in the form of yours truly.  There will be bumps and missteps but if you keep at it, observing and correcting appropriately, you’ll be fine.”

After lunch they headed back to the office.

– To be Continued
Next Episode: Robyn Debriefs Amy

The Division Head Part 2

“There’s one thing I would like to see, Amy.” Bobbi ventured. “I think we as your directs need to see more of the division level perspective. I’m realizing that I have more of a “my group” mentality than I thought. To be successful as a leadership team we all need to think at a division level.”

“I think we’ve laid the foundation for that with this offsite.” Matia added. “It’s elevated our focus. And Amy, don’t think yo can’t be firm with us without causing hard feelings or that we don’t respect you. We’ve just been caught up in our own functional team issues.”

After a moment Robyn, the facilitator, asked “Are there any mor comments or requests for Amy? No? Then how about items you’d like her to pursue with Senior Management?” Looking at their surprised faces she laughed. “Okay, we’ll focus on one layer at a time.” -To be Continued
Karen D. Bowser
Your Business Success & Personal Joy!
Having a life and career you look forward to living!
karen@ybsapj.com 718-496-3699

The Division Head Part 1

Amy said, “Robyn, I know I’m also a section of that bridge we alluded to earlier. So QA really wasn’t the last group to be examined.” She looked at each person seated at the conference table. “Deja, Bobbi, Evan and Matia, what can I do as the head of this division to help you complete projects on time while satisfying our customers?”

“Amy, I liked the energy, enthusiasm and ideas you brought with you when you arrived here.” Deja said. “I think we as a division got off to a bad start because we didn’t drill down on how we were going to win the game. Look at what my group’s thinking was, ‘getting clients to agree to migrate is scoring a point’. I have to go back after this offsite and start beating that notion out of my guys’ heads.”

“I agree with Deja. Everyone was doing their own thing. You needed to pull us by the collar and get it into our minds that we’re a team and it’s your job to know what’s going on and to make sure the sections of this bridge are connected and up to spec.” Evan said.

 – To be Continued