Day #22 – Killer Problem Solving (Great for Meeting Facilitation too)

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executive coaching, facilitating a meeting, good meeting facilitation, how to build consensus, how to deal with strong personalities at a meeting, how to facilitate a meeting with a problem, how to generate solutions to a difficult problem, how to problem solve on a team, how to solve problems, life transition coaching, Mary Lee Gannon, problem solving, starting over now, work life balance

365 Ways to Start Over: Day #22 – Killer Problem Solving (Great for Meeting Facilitation too)

Problem solving is often difficult whether the problem is yours alone or one that requires group consideration. If the problem is personal in nature, you may feel ‘stuck’ in moving forward. In working with groups of people either at work, in volunteer activities or in your own family it may seem impossible to generate fresh ideas or for a group to come to a consensus. Resources may be thin. Strong personalities may weigh with heavy influence. Personal agendas may come into play. Different constituents may have different goals. The following steps will help you to solve any problem whether it needs a group solution or it is a personal issue.

Problem Solving on the Fly

1. Define the problem. Write down exactly what the issue is and gain agreement from all parties. If working with a team, it is imperative that there be buy-in from everyone involved in order to gain the best solution. Is the problem that sales are down? Or is it that production cannot keep up with orders? Are you stuck and can’t make a decision on your life purpose?

2. Establish criteria for evaluating solutions. Do not consider the solution when doing this. Instead think of what will make a solution a good solution? Will it be cost efficient? Will it require low overhead? Ask the question, “The solution should be one that _______ and does not __________.” Ie: The solution should increase sales and not necessarily increase costs – thus a redistribution of resources not spending more. The solution should provide me with fulfillment in mind body and spirit and nothing is too far out to consider.

3. Identify a root cause of the problem. The root cause can most easily be defined by asking ‘Why?’ five times. Why did we miss our goal? Because we didn’t sell enough product? Why not? Because we didn’t have enough opportunities to get in front of our ideal client. Why not? Although we closed a high percentage of the clients we met with, we didn’t acquire enough leads for appointments. Why not? Because our internal sales force did not have enough training nor were they incentivized? Why not? We didn’t develop a program for this strategy.

4. Generate alternative solutions. Ie: 1) We establish a training program with skilled trainers. 2) We invest in better training for our trainers. 3) We establish an incentives program for the internal sales force. 4) We establish a referral program whereby existing customers get a price reduction for every lead that converts to a sale. Or: 1) I will devote 60 minutes everyday to doing something I have never done before. 2) I will schedule coffee meetings with three people this month that have achieved success in an area of interest to me.

5. Evaluate each solution based on the criteria in #2.

6. Select the best solutions.

7. Develop an action plan. The plan should include:1) key stakeholders, 2) key metrics that you will measure, and 3) a timeline.

8. Implement the plan. Adjust the plan along the way and record the changes so that a process becomes clear.

9. Measure the outcomes and communicate the progress. The culture of any organization, family or group relies on clear communication. Tell your plan to someone who will hold you accountable to it.

Executing this strategy closes the gap between a desired solution and a current situation in a straight forward way. For a personal issue this promotes an assessment of all viable options in an objective manner. For teams, this allows for everyone to weigh in with opinions and for everyone to own the outcome. Start now!

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Mary Lee Gannon is the president of Gannon Group – an executive coaching and consulting firm that produces higher individual and organizational performance through Executive Leadership Coaching, Fundraising Coaching, Organizational Development, Board Retreats, Visioning, and Planning. Mary Lee’s personal turnaround came as a stay-at-home mother, with four children under seven-years-old, who endured a divorce that took she and the children from the country club life to public assistance from where within a short time she worked up to the level of CEO. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules for When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available in bookstores or at Amazon. Get her FREE ebook – “Grow Productivity – A Leader’s Toolbox” on her web site at www.StartingOverNow.com.

12 Steps to Lead a Killer Productive Meeting

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good meeting facilitation, good meetings, how to lead a meeting, rules to lead a good meeting

How many times have you been to a meeting where everyone got their opinions out on the table but nothing was decided? Or how many recurring meetings have you sat through where you wished you could have been excused because even if you were to express an opinion, nothing would change?

We’ve all been there. I’ve worked with managers who have planned for their direct reports to page them out of meetings. I’ve seen telephone conferences purposefully scheduled at the same time as meetings. I’ve witnessed people repeatedly bringing work to monthly information meetings because they’ve found them to be more of a “show and tell” session than highlighting what is mission critical and why it is important.

The main reason that meetings are not productive is because the group framework is not effective and the facilitator cannot move the meeting toward a predetermined purpose.

A Group Framework

Organizational culture plays a big role in the effectiveness of its meetings. Organizational culture refers to a set of values and beliefs that members of the organization share and that guide their behavior. Is the environment one in which everyone understands the mission and the vision of the organization? Are the core values of the organization exemplified everyday by its executive leadership? Group culture refers to the set of values and beliefs that are shared by the group. A group’s culture may differ from the organization’s culture because of the demographic and professions of the group’s members but a group will be more effective if the organizational culture is supportive.

Values and beliefs must be lived by everyone within the organization or the culture turns cynical. It is one thing to say that an organization values accountability and respect and another if members of the executive team are not visible in the organization and do not show compassion for their colleagues or customers.

A Clear Mission and Vision for the Group

Just as an organization has a mission and a vision for it to be effective so must a group. The mission of the group answers the question, “Why do we exist?” The group’s vision is a mental picture of the future the group seeks to create. So the mission of a monthly information meeting might be “To inform the management staff on the key indicators of the business while recognizing outstanding performance and enlisting their input in a specific action plan for areas that need attention.” Then people go away from the meeting understanding the specifics of what is going right and have helped define how to fix what is not. The vision might be that “At every meeting the group will evaluate whether or not to continue with its existing action items or modify them. Additionally the group will determine what new action needs to occur to improve on (a specific measure.)”

From a more strategic perspective a group may not understand what philosophical direction to take an organization. So instead of just having a discussion around this topic that may go in circles the group’s mission may be to decide what direction to take to best meet the mission of the organization as a whole. The group’s vision might be to become a recognized leader in a certain industry within two years. The meeting’s agenda may begin with a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) to evaluate the current state of situation before making a plan.

The Facilitator

The role of the facilitator is key in determining the outcome of a meeting. A strong facilitator will see him or herself as a third party unless he/she is also an expert on the topic and will need to give relevant input. If the facilitator is also an expert, he or she will need to note when his or her comments are from outside the facilitator role. Most of the role will be facilitating. The facilitator will work with key people before the meeting to determine the mission and vision of the meeting as well as the agenda for pre-distribution, who will attend, who will take minutes, the meeting start and end times and the appropriate follow up. At the onset of the meeting the facilitator will establish the ground rules for the meeting such as: no idea is a bad idea; everyone can openly disagree but opinions must be expressed with the reasoning behind the assumption; the goal is to identify gaps or problems in a theory; and meeting end time. When the meeting is over, the facilitator clearly reiterates: who will take ownership of the actionable decisions that were made from the input of the group; when the next meeting will be; and what the deliverables are for that meeting. Try unconventional methods to gain enthusiasm. Hold short meetings standing up. Start at an unconventional time that is not on a quarter hour increment – such as 8:47 a.m.

Good meeting facilitation means making the fewest and smallest inferential leaps possible. An inference is a conclusion you reach on something you may have observed. A low level inference might be to ask someone who has made a comment to validate it with why they feel that way. A high level inference might be to point out that they do not seem to care what other people think. Stay with the low-level inferences.

12 Steps to Lead a Productive Meeting:

1.) Define the meeting mission (purpose) and vision (future view).

2.) Define the meeting facilitator and who will take minutes.

3.) Define who will attend the meeting and how the room will be set up – consider representation from all parties needed to define and implement any decisions as well as who would be affected.

4.) Define the meeting start and end times without interruptions such as email or phone calls during meetings.

5.) Define and pre-distribute the agenda that should include the meeting mission and vision, any relevant reports, start and end times, and attendees.

6.) At the beginning of the meeting welcome everyone and if people in the room do not know each other do a round table self-introduction.

7.) State the ground rules of the meeting such as: this is a safe environment; no idea is a bad idea; everyone can openly disagree but opinions must be expressed with the reasoning behind them; the goal is define which ideas have the best chance to succeed.

8.) Work though the agenda items inviting a dialogue of views and creative scenarios.

9.) Write the ideas (not the names of who created them) on a chart visible by all. Gather consensus on which ideas have the least gaps and the greatest chance to succeed.

10.) If follow up information is needed or if a decision has been made assign an accountable party to execute and bring a report back to the group.

11.) Review the action items with the group and set those deliverable items at the beginning of the next meeting’s agenda.

12.) Thank everyone for their participation.

Effective meetings require planning, a healthy culture, a purpose and good leadership. Start now!

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Mary Lee Gannon is a cultural turnaround and leadership expert who went from being a stay-at-home mother with four children to a difficult marriage, divorce, homelessness, welfare and then to CEO. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available on Amazon.com and details how she went from an earning capacity of $27,000 annually to president and CEO within just a few years. Visit her Web site at www.StartingOverNow.com.