How Do I Stimulate Creative Thinking on the Team? The Problem: More and more teams are being asked to do more with less and find creative solutions to problems. Facilitators and team leaders are often encouraging teams to “think outside the box”, but how do you actually...
Developing an Agenda...
Leading a Project Kickoff Meeting The Problem: Most (if not all) projects begin with the famous “kickoff meeting”. In many ways this meeting (for better or worse) sets the tone for the rest of the project. As such, it’s important that the project leader conduct a very...
How Project Managers Can Provide Team Motivation During Meetings Dear Dana, I’m leading a team of six and our motivation seems to be dwindling quickly. Even my best team members seem to be running out of steam these days. We’ve got about three more months to...
Motivating Teams During Difficult Times Dale Carnegie said “There is only one way to get anyone to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it!” That simple statement represents a profound shift in thinking for many of us. I’ll admit...
Tips to Improve Your Project Status Meeting Dear Dana, I’m a new project manager and I’ve been having sporadic project status meetings with my team, but they’re NOT WORKING. Every project status meeting turns into a big vent session, and I’m not really getting the information that...
Tips for Capturing Meeting Notes Dear Dana, My problem is that our team never seems to take good notes during project meetings, and it always comes back to bite us. One person forgot what they were supposed to do, those who didn’t come to the meeting...
Solutions for 4 Top Meeting Facilitation Mistakes Dear Dana, I’m a new team leader, and honestly I don’t have much meeting facilitation experience. I need to know the tricks of the trade. I’ve seen a few people do it well, but many, many more struggle to...
Leading Global Virtual Meetings Dear Dana, I’ve recently been asked to lead a virtual team. My team members are located in three countries and several U.S. locations. Although I have some experience leading teams and team meetings, I’m somewhat concerned about leading virtual meetings. It just...
Are Your Meetings Starting Late? Dear Dana, I’m a project manager leading a team of eight cross functional employees on a six month project. We have frequent team meetings (at least once a week), but we seem to always start late because one or two people...