When a team starts working together on projects, it is good practice to organize yourselves as a team as soon as possible.
The team should meet to exchange and discuss project outcomes, deliverables, and potential solutions. Efficiently running these meetings requires delegation of facilitation tasks.
We recommend assigning those roles to be fulfilled during the meeting and throughout the project. Of course roles can and should be rotated between meetings so all team members can participate in different roles throughout the life of a project.
Below are the main roles that need to be filled:
Notetaker: Responsible for documenting key points, decisions, and discussions during the meeting or project. Ensures accurate records for future reference.
Guiding Principles for the Notetaker:
Capture key moments of discussion and decision-making
Distribute notes to team members in a timely manner
Best Practices for the Notetaker:
Be aware of key points to be covered in meeting beforehand
Be mindful of capturing the flow of discussion
Ensure to capture who/what/when items and parking lot topics
Make sure to have a plan for consistent formatting and distributing notes agreed upon with facilitator.
Present action items and deadlines clearly by using bullets, underlining or bolding keywords so attendees can see at a glance what is expected.
Time Keeper: Monitors the allocated time for each agenda item, keeps the discussion on track, and signals when it's time to move on to the next topic.
The guiding principles for the Time Keeper:
Be aware of agenda timing ahead of meeting
Be aware of agenda item objectives
Be ready to jump into the conversation to alert meeting participants of timing
Ensure to follow the agenda and keep the discussion on track
Remind participants of the agenda goals if they see the discussion go off topic.
Scheduler: Manages the scheduling of meetings, assigns dates and times, and ensures that participants' availability is taken into account.
The guiding principles for the Scheduler:
Manage the scheduling of meetings, assigning dates and times, and ensure that participants' availability is taken into account.
Be proactive in reaching out to team members to determine their availability.
Identify potential scheduling conflicts and work to resolve them in a timely and efficient manner.
Be responsive to changes in the project timeline or shifting priorities, and adjust meeting schedules accordingly.
Communicate and collaborate with the Facilitator and other team members to ensure that everyone is aware of upcoming meetings and that the scheduling process runs smoothly.
Facilitator: Facilitates discussions, manages conflicts, and ensures that all participants have an opportunity to express their opinions. Maintains a neutral and balanced environment.
Guiding Principles for the Facilitator:
Stay grounded in meeting objectives and remind participants to focus and remain on topic.
Ensure everyone present on the meeting is heard and has an opportunity to voice an opinion.
If points in the meeting need repeating for clarity, do so
Ensure all in-meeting roles are filled. Perhaps the facilitator keeps time, or perhaps requests a team member act as timekeeper.
Spokesperson: Provides updates on the project's progress, explains group decisions, and communicates important information to stakeholders or team members not present in the meeting.
Guiding Principles for the Spokesperson:
Provide clear and concise updates on the project's progress
Explain group decisions in a way that is easily understood by stakeholders or team members not present in the meeting
Communicate important information in a timely and effective manner
Represent the team and project in a positive and professional manner
Customer Representative: Represents the client's interests, gathers feedback, communicates client expectations to the team, and ensures that the project aligns with the client's needs and goals.
Guiding Principles for the Client Manager:
Represent the client's interests and communicate their expectations to the team
Gather feedback from the client and ensure that the project aligns with their needs and goals
Be responsive to changes in the project timeline or shifting priorities
Communicate and collaborate with the Facilitator and other team members to ensure that everyone is aware of the client's needs and expectations
Represent the team and project in a positive and professional manner
With those key roles covered, the meeting should run smoothly and reach the expected outcome.
It's important to note that before the start of the meeting, a different topic should be discussed and an agenda should be laid out. This could be prepared by the leader or the facilitator, who can go around the table and ask for everyone's topic for the day.