Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: outcomes

  • Listen In -> Why We Hate Meetings #3: Not Focused toward Outcomes

    Some issues come up in meetings week after week. The discussion picks up where it left off and no resolution or decision ever gets made.

    And again you want to kill yourself (or at least the leader). Because again you are not busy doing the many important tasks waiting for you at your desk in order to be at this meeting. This meeting that is rehashing and rethinking and repeating what has been discussed on many previous occasions.

    Open discussions are a good thing. Hearing all sides to a complex issue is a good thing. Playing out various scenarios is, yes, a good thing.

    But when these thinking exercises have served their purpose, there needs to be movement toward a decision, toward a plan, or toward an clearly identified outcome.

    We waste our own and everyone else’s time when we discuss for discussion’s sake. We must discuss for the sake of making the best possible decision. We must think together for the sake of achieving the optimum plan of action.

    We hate meetings when they are missing a clear trajectory toward particular decisions and concrete action.

    Find out what a simple set of expected outcomes can do for your meeting.

    Listen in.

    We have a tool that can help. Check out our Meeting Planner, a simple, professional workbook for planning meetings that focus discussions, increase team buy-in, and get things done. (Click here for more information.)
    Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Question of the Week

    How clearly can you articulate the outcomes you expect your team to accomplish?

    The Question of the Week is offered to increase awareness of one’s personal leadership practices and encourage experimentation with creative alternatives.

  • Building In Volunteer Accountability

    Key with volunteers is the opportunity to contribute and make a difference. Take that away and why not just stay home and catch up on chores?

    A position without accountability is the same as a position that doesn’t matter. If it’s not important enough to have standards and expected outcomes, then it’s not very important.

    By treading lightly and avoiding confrontation over sub-standard work by volunteers, we rob them of one of the key benefits of getting involved—the opportunity to make a difference. Work that matters is work worth insisting on people’s best efforts.

    Try including expected outcomes in your volunteer job descriptions. Lists of tasks or responsibilities leave too much to individual interpretation. Many arguments or misunderstandings about performance can be avoided from the outset with a focus on outcomes.

    Accountability is not a threat to those who care about their work… it is a gift. How do you go about giving the gift of accountability?

    (Find the entire Challenges Facing Non-Profits series here.)