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Meeting Problems

Here are some problems that come up and some ideas of what works and what does not work [C10].

• One person talks more than all the others.
• Team members chat or play during the meeting.
• Team members tell jokes or secrets to each other during the meeting.
• No one takes part in a discussion.
• Some team members do not take part because they do not see the issue as important to them.
• Team members argue with each other and do not want to end the conflict.
• One or two team members never say anything, but the rest do.
• Team members do not do the jobs they said they would do.
• You start or end the meeting late.
• People go on and on about unimportant decisions.
• A team member makes the same point over and over.
• A team member comes up with a new problem that the team needs to deal with.

Problem: One person talks more than all the others.

Do: Try to get others to talk more. Ask them what they think.

Do Not: Tell the person who talks a lot to be quiet and give others a turn to talk.

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Problem: Team members chat or play during the meeting.

Do: Try to take a break. People may goof off when they need a rest.

Do Not: Start a power struggle by telling them to pay attention.

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Problem: Team members tell jokes or secrets to each other during the meeting.

Do: Ask if people need a break. Or break into smaller groups to talk about an issue so they have to take part. Or turn to them and say "People who do not hear the joke may wonder if you are laughing at them."

Do Not: Ignore it and hope that they stop on their own.

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Problem: No one takes part in a discussion.

Do: Break into smaller groups to talk. Ask them to list their ideas.

Do Not: Guess that silence means everyone agrees with you.

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Problem: Some team members do not take part because they do not see the issue as important to them.

Do: Break into small groups to talk about what is important to them about this issue.

Do Not: Guess that silence means they agree with what others have said. And do not ignore them.

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Problem: Team members argue with each other and do not want to end the conflict.

Do: Ask what others think about the issue. Or ask if there are other issues the team also needs to talk about.

Do Not: Take up a lot of other team members' time in a meeting trying to end the conflict.

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Problem: One or two team members never say anything, but the rest do.

Do: Ask for the people who have not talked to say what they think. Or break into smaller groups. Shy people may feel OK to talk in a smaller group.

Do Not: Point out that the person has not said anything. It makes a shy person even quieter.

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Problem: Team members do not do the jobs they said they would do.

Do: Have people work in pairs. Or check with people half way through the time to do the job to see if they need help or advice.

Do Not: Ignore it. Or give all the work to one or two people you can count on. Or give a pep talk that does not solve the problem.

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Problem: You start or end the meeting late.

Do: Start on time to reward people who arrive on time. If you need more time, have a break so people can call others to say they will be late. If you end late a lot, make shorter agendas.

Do Not: Wait for others to show up. Or guess that it will be OK with others to end late without asking them.

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Problem: People go on and on about unimportant decisions.

Do: Ask the team to stop and talk about why we are "stuck" on the issue. Talk together about how the team wants to make its decisions.

Do Not: Complain that people are wasting time. Or blame others for holding back the team.

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Problem: A team member makes the same point over and over.

Do: Put what the person said in your own words and ask if you understand them. Or ask other team members to paraphrase what the person said. People repeat themselves because they do not think that others really listened to what they said.

Do Not: Say bad things about what the person is doing to them or others.

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Problem: A team member comes up with a new problem that the team needs to deal with.

Do: Be glad the person found the problem now instead of later.

Do Not: Pretend not to hear them. Or try to find reasons not to look at the problem.

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