BLUF
Meetings that include voting options on agenda items get results.Summary
The aim OF any meeting should be to update stakeholders and get decisions made to move forward or troubleshoot. All efforts should be made to avoid a talk-fest and circular arguments where people's valuable time is wasted and a decision is not reached. Worse still, you may have to attend a follow-up meeting. The responsibility to control the meeting rests with the chairperson. Dr McNamara, a HR researcher and consultant, provides practical strategies to help groups make meaningful decisions using voting and consensus techniques. Voting can be as simple as a show of hands but it can involve more sophisticated automated methods for those unable to make the physical meeting (e.g. voting buttons on emails with room for limited character comment or drop down options). The more people, the more preparation and structure required. So, the next time you're tasked to run a PD session, be prepared to sit in the 'left seat'.
