Effective Team Decision-Making and Problem-Solving Part 3

Background

This is the third article in a three part series on ‘Effective Team Decision-Making and Problem-Solving’.

• Effective Project Management; (first article Issue #7)
• Effective Team Decision-Making and Problem Solving (previous article Issue #8)
• Using ‘Red/Blue’ type meetings to progress a team’s monthly agendas (this article).

Introduction

Those readers who have been following this series will recall that the underpinning ‘Star Model’ is as follows (for those interested in research into the Star Model please go to www.tms.co.nz/research).

Star Performing Team Model

When thinking about this article I referred to all the materials and assistance TMS has given to clients over the years on improving their meetings. I have often found it useful to align different meeting purposes with the different colours of the Margerison McCann Team Management Wheel. What follows is a summary of the main points that apply to different meetings. I trust you will find it amusing and informative.

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE
TO SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS

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Planning is the key to successful meetings. It is important that initial planning considerations include the "Five W's and One H" - why, who, what, when and how.

Why Have a Meeting?

• Is a meeting the best way of achieving the purpose?
• What about:
  • an email?
  • phone call?
  • conference call?
  • tagging onto another meeting?
  • individual project for someone?

Who Should Attend the Meeting?

• Is attendance compulsory or voluntary?
• Be sure to clarify the role each person is expected to play before the meeting.

What Information Should be Circulated to Meeting Participants?

• Is there an agenda format?
• Have you allowed enough time for participants to prepare for the meeting?
• Did you send reading material early enough?

When is the Best Time to Hold the Meeting?

• Is there a scheduling issue?
• Have you given plenty of notice?
• Would drawing up a meeting plan be helpful?

Where Will the Meeting be Held?

• Don't forget practical requirements:
  • Has someone organised the venue?
  • What about the start and finish times?
  • What equipment is needed?
  • How long will it take to set up?
  • What about catering requirements?

How Will Outputs/Decisions/Minutes be Recorded?

• Who is responsible for that?
• Are they aware of their expected role?
  

• Design the meeting format.
• Ensure adequate time for each item.
• Prioritise items.
• Know what actions are required.
• Know what decisions are needed.
• Do some items need more time?
• Don't waste time on trivia.
• Agree time frame for items "up front".

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MEETING TYPES

Remember:

• Once you have established the need for a meeting ensure it has the appropriate focus. Red hats only for decision-making meetings - no Green hats with new ideas. Although "pure" colour meetings are not strictly possible, avoid meetings that try to do all things. The end result is confusion and a sense of "nothing accomplished".
  

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Remember:
Green represents new growth and innovation. Green hats only - no decision making!!!

• Be creative
• brainstorm
• Involve a wider group for a richer pool of ideas
• Encourage ALL ideas no matter how silly they seem
• Quantity of ideas is the goal
• Evaluation is prohibited
• Build on each other's ideas
• Clarify the ideas recorded.

Appoint a Facilitator Who Will:

• Enforce the correct procedures
• Record ideas quickly up front
• Encourage and reinforce creativity.

When to Evaluate?

• Either at the end of the brainstorming session OR use an input to a Red meeting where the good ideas can be assessed and developed towards implementation.

How to Evaluate?

• We cannot work on or implement ideas all at once, so we must select those ideas the team consider the most worthy of implementation or further exploration.
• Use the EMU system - using a show of hands voting system, assign each idea one of the following status marks:
  • E - Excellent (all agree)
  • M - Maybe (half agree)
  • U - Unsuitable (none or few agree)
• At this point people may ask for some brief clarification of the idea to help assess its potential. If at the end of one evaluation there are still more than three E's, use the EMU system again to reduce the number of E's to three or less. (Refer to Appendix A and Appendix B for other evaluation methods.)

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(these often run back-to-back)

Remember:

• Red represents decision making and evaluating proposals.
• Blue represents review process and tracking performance.
• Make sure there is an agreed preparation system in place:
  • Is there an appropriate agenda?
  • What about individual preparation?
  • What about prior written and oral communication requirements?
• What progress has there been since the last meeting?
  • Is there a time frame?
  • Have people checked there action plan?
  • Are they keeping to the agreed time frame?
• Does the meeting linker/leader have agreement from meeting participants to integrate, co-ordinate and control the meeting process?
• Make sure it is clear to all present:
  • When decisions have been made
  • What those decisions are
  • The action steps required
  • The time frame for action
• Make sure everyone is encouraged to listen well and contribute their views.
• Review the meeting's effectiveness as a group.
• Ensure a balance exists between co-operation and lively debate.
• Use the SPADE model to help problem solving/decision making processes:

S - Share Information P - Problem and Opportunity Analysis A - Assess Solution Options D - Decide Solution Action Plan E - Effect Implementation

At the "decide" part of the SPADE problem solving/decision making process, the group leader/linker should use the appropriate decision style as follows.

The appropriate quadrant is decided by the leader and communicated early. He/she chooses a quadrant depending on the situation and the people involved.

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• Publish deadlines and agreed actions after meetings.
• Develop the ability to imagine the impact your actions and decisions have on others.
• Share information with colleagues on the progress of issues.
• Know what each team member is mandated to do.
• Honour your obligations and commitments - others are relying on you!!!
• Hold on to the team values but "let go" of the comfort of being with the others.
• Be the guardian of the team's objectives and standards.
• Promote the team when apart.
• The team leader must:
  • Trust the team
  • Be able to "let go"
  • Constantly show interest
  • Be supportive
  • Keep everyone informed
• Be aware of routine activities pushing out your team's agreed actions.
• Keep track of priorities with others.
• Consider rotating the meeting venue.
• Develop a progress reporting system - what about a bulletin board?
• Keep in touch with other team members.
• Use technology where appropriate.
• Signal problems early.

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Multi-voting System
A method of selecting the most important or popular items from a list with limited discussion and difficulty, often follows a brainstorming session.
Steps:

1. Generate a list of items and number each item.
2. Combine similar items (if everyone agrees they're similar).
3. Remember items if necessary.
4. Have all members choose items they want to discuss by writing the numbers down. Allow each member one third of the number of items on the list (i.e., 48 items, allow 16 choices).
5. Tally votes (in secrecy, if necessary).
6. Eliminate those items with the fewest votes.
7. Complete steps 3-6 again if necessary to reduce items further

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Nominal Group Technique
More structured than brainstorming or multi-voting. Generates a list of options and then narrows it down for decision. Good when a team is new or when controversial issues are being resolved.

Part I - Formalised Green Meeting or Brainstorm

1. Define the task in the form of a question and then follow the Green Meetings format apart from the idea generation process.
2. Introduce and clarify the question (don't let this develop into a discussion of the issue itself).
3. Generate ideas - first, everyone writes ideas down in silence.
4. Each person lists their ideas - then go around the table and have everyone read one idea from their list. Continue until all ideas are recorded.
5. Add any extra group ideas.

Part II - Making the Selection

1. Reduce the list if too many items (refer multi-voting above).
2. Give each participant four to eight blank cards (four for up to 20 items, eight for 35 to 50).
3. Members individually select from the list writing one item per card.
4. Members assign a point value to each item based on their preference. The highest points are assigned to the most preferred option.
5. After each participant has assigned points, the votes are tallied. The highest polling items are the group's selection.
6. The group reviews the results and discusses the reaction to the highest polled item. If there is agreement, the process ends. If not, the group consider the next highest item, and so on.

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Conclusion

With any team meeting system the important things are:

• Make sure the meeting purpose fits the method/colour used
• Each team member needs to understand how each meeting type works in practice – together with that team’s uniquely developed ways of doing things. Example: one team I recall had a gong/bell which was sounded by the leader when a decision was made. How many meetings have you attended where you were unsure what and if anything had been decided?
• Whilst it is good practice to have a clearly understood meeting protocol the effectiveness of any meeting should be reviewed from time to time. In several instances TMS has been asked to video particular meetings to help improve their effectiveness via feedback and discussion. The key point is not to allow meetings to go stale – shake them up from time to time.
• Have a robust communication process about when meetings are held and who is expected to attend. Unless people are reminded – even when a there is an agreed meeting schedule – the urgent will always potentially push out the important.
• Prepare for the unexpected membership variations. If people are missing, or new people come into the meeting have a process to cover that. Without back-up plans the potential for muddling through and de-motivating team members is very real.

The next series of three articles will cover the ‘Focused’ Star point (the team is customer-focused and regularly reviews the meaning of success).

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Peter Robinson
Chief Executive Officer
Team Management Services Ltd.

P.O. Box 21-194, Henderson, Waitakere 0650, New Zealand
Tel: 64-9-836-5317 Fax 64-9-836-5318
email: peter@tms.co.nz
Website: www.tms.co.nz

© 2004 Team Management Services