Check in: Many groups like to start their meetings with a round to allow people to share how they are feeling, what's happening for them that day, good and bad news they have received etc. This steps sets a climate for the group, and by allowing people to unburden and share excitement, tends to help avoid these positive or negative "vibes" spilling out haphazardly at some later point in the process. Its also just plain civil to acknowledge the people you are working with!

Check that you have group maintenance tasks covered: Some groups like to appoint individuals—often on a rotating basis—to hold special responsibility for the group process. For example, some group might ask one person to act as the facilitator and play a neutral role throughout the discussion. Other process roles include "vibes watchers" who are asked to watch the emotional climate in the group and help identify where and when people might be feeling uncomfortable. Time keepers, note takers and flipchart scribes are other supportive roles.

Confirm the objectives for the meeting: It is remarkable how many meetings begin without participants having a clear and agreed set of objectives that determine what the meeting is about and at what point the task will be completed.

In setting up objectives, ask yourself, "What would completion of these objectives look (or feel) like?" Avoid objectives with phrases like "provide an opportunity to discuss…" or "Explore…" and try to identify specific outcomes like:

• to determine specific priorities for our action plan with clear roles and responsibilities and timelines for completion;
  
• to identify options for moving ahead while coordinating among various task groups,
  

Select a set of options that are considered most likely to succeed; rather than to provide a chance to discuss how to move forward.

Set or reconfirm the agenda: Make sure the group is clear on the agenda before you begin. Use the agenda as a reference tool, and agree on adjustments if you find you need more time. Don't succumb to starting with an agenda which you know you will not complete; instead, agree on how long to take on key tasks and defer the remaining tasks to another time.

Think about structuring tasks: Think about process structure in advance to support your tasks. What kind of task is it that you are engaging with—creative ideas, sorting ideas, analyzing ideas, evaluating ideas, etc. Choose an approach that is designed to serve the required purpose. For example:

• For creative tasks, think about using brainstorms or other techniques to generate a set of potential ideas. As a first step, use approaches that encourage lateral or creative thinking, but then define a point at which you will switch from generating possible ideas to discussing the ideas and selecting one to move ahead with. Make these "points of closure" or decision points very clear so that you don't go round in circles without ever closing in on an agreed plan.

• For sorting tasks, take just a little time to develop the names for clusters of ideas before you begin grouping them. The time and effort taken to do this is often worthwhile as it tends to draw out useful discussion about the ideas themselves.

• For analytical tasks, make sure that you provide opportunities to agree on the criteria for assessment. In other words, if you are comparing various options, what are the bases on which each option is being assessed. Take time to agree on the criteria in advance, and then set up a matrix to compare the options before making your choice. Try to organize the pros and cons so that you can refer back to them later without getting lost in detail. Use diagrams liberally, such as decision trees, timelines, venn diagrams (showing sets), and so on. Don’t forget that you should use techniques such as rounds to make sure everyone has a say, and has the opportunity to offer their gut reactions as well as fill in the "squares and boxes" for your analysis!

• For evaluative tasks, try using modified voting techniques, such as posting stickies onto the wall, or using weighted voting (3 points for the top options, 2 for the next, etc) to enlarge the spread among potential choices.

Confirm tasks to be completed and timeline: Many groups waste enormous amounts of time repeating tasks because people forget to follow through on their assignments, or just were not clear what they were supposed to do! Allocate 15 minutes at the end of each meeting to summarize  who will be doing what task, what the product of that task looks like (e.g., deliverable), and when task are to be completed. Always under-commit and over-deliver, rather than the other way round!

Set next meeting time and place: Make sure people know when you are next getting together. If you can’t agree right there and then, make sure it is clear how people will decide and who will take responsibility for informing the group once the time and place are selected.

Confirm how communication/coordination will be achieved in the period before the next meeting: Make sure people know how to get in touch with each other!

Evaluate the meeting: Take the time to find out how people felt about the meeting. What worked well? What could you do better next time?

Please feel free to make use of these resources in your work. However, we ask that if you wish to distribute any of this material, or make multiple copies, you contact the Hollyhock Leadership Institute for permission.