Team Meetings

“This is the crux of management: It is the belief that a team of people can achieve more than a single person going it alone. It is the realization that you don’t have to do everything yourself, be the best at everything yourself, or even know how to do everything yourself. Your job, as a manager, is to get better outcomes from a group of people working together.”
― Julie Zhuo, The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You

One of the leadership class assignments was to reach out to our team with a survey of questions so I asked “when a project begins how much or little information would each team member like to receive“. I was surprised to learn that most people would like to not only know their part of the project but about the project as a whole and the goals the client would like to achieve with the project.

As soon as my next project begins (fingers crossed this week), the development of the Amertias State regulations on e-commerce forms, I will implement internal kick-off meetings where I will gather all team members and go over the clients motivation for the project as well as ask for any requirements that might have been overlooked when I discussed the project request with the client. This will allow each member to feel more involved with the project and to suggest ideas and discuss best practices.

“If you have more than three priorities, you have no priorities”
― Brené Brown, Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

During the kick-off I will also be able to establish realistic timelines for projects not only based on the project requirements but also on the teams workload. If any member has more than 2 other priority projects then it will allow me to either switch out team members or speak with other PMs to establish true priorities and reduce stress with team members.

Another question I asked was, “How often should we meet as a team and one-on-one for projects we work on together? Do you want to meet on projects or just have the prompts in wrike?” I assume most people would say meet once, get the project details and then I would check in via slack or wrike during the project and I was wrong.

Almost every person said they would like to have weekly or bi-weekly meetings with the whole team to discuss the project and any issues or requirements that they did not initially foresee. I think this is a great tactic to keep the project on course as long as meetings stay within their time limits and do not stray to other projects. I believe each team member wants their voice and opinions heard on projects and to feel valued.

Starting with the Ameritas State Compliance API integration this week, I will implement bi-weekly project meetings to increase productivity, keep projects on target and keep team members morale high.

“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”
― Brené Brown, Dareto Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.