Things to Keep in Mind… #3
ASKS don’t always apply to INVITING PEOPLE INTO LEADERSHIP.
A lot of MY ASKS are to EXISTING TEAM MEMBERS and they are ASKS of their TIME.
Think about it. When I ask a person or a group of people to meet with me for 60 minutes, I have essentially asked them to say “there is nothing more important for me to do than be with you and this team”
They are driving in from a long day of work (almost our entire team is volunteer)
They are often not eating dinner (if it’s an evening meeting)
They are making childcare arrangements, rescheduling personal plans, getting out of work early, swapping shifts with someone at work, etc. All that to remind me that
THEY ARE SACRIFICING TO BE THERE, GIVE THEM SOMETHING WORTHWHILE.
When scheduling a meeting I try to follow these steps to make sure that the ASK of their time was worthwhile:
1. Open with Fun. Do a game, have food, give away something, break the ice, introduce people to each other, etc. If it’s One on One I ask them about their day, family, etc.
2. Hand out an agenda. I start with the goals of meeting and break them into easy to follow bullet points.
3. Stick to agenda. When I get people who actually like being together in a meeting, tangents are inevitable. My challenge is to keep the team on track and steer conversation towards achieving the stated goals. Also known as trying to “land the plane.” In the long run they will appreciate it.
4. Don’t be a ROBOT or MECHANICAL. Yeah I have an agenda, but my goal is to balance that with some fun. Otherwise people will CHECK OUT and spend the time making fun of me on twitter or facebook.
5. Celebrate what has been done. Leave on a high note.
6. Don’t end with unresolved conflict. Unless that was the goal.
7. Honor their time & ideas. I invited them to the meeting. Did I make sure to honor them and appreciate what they bring to the table. If the answer is NO, WHY DID I INVITE THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE???
