How to Run a Work Meeting

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

I am working on leading a discussion with colleagues to breakdown our business goals and brainstorm ideas to create personal development goals that will help each of us in our work journey. We work for a Medicaid MCO and are all RN Coordinators for nursing facility members. Are there resources you would suggest? I have about a month and really want to go into this discussion well informed and with lots of suggestions for my team.

Dear Leading a Discussion,

You are wise to prepare for your meeting. Brainstorming ideas is a method used to generate thoughts. Write all of the ideas on a white board without editing or comment.

Next, as the group leader, you have to facilitate prioritizing the ideas and moving to action.

There are different methods for group decision-making, and you should familiarize yourself with a couple before your meeting. After brainstorming, when all ideas are exhausted, the members can rank order the different ideas (often done by voting) until the group has sufficiently narrowed down the options.

Authority- Differentiate what the group can do and what requires additional resources, such as funds or admin approval. Focus on what you can do.

Identify stakeholders- Include all stakeholders, meaning if medication delivery is changed in the facility, Pharmacy and med techs need to be at the table. Maybe even dietary if some meds are served with meals.

Span of control- Avoid deciding what other groups/disciplines should do, otherwise you get mired in the futility of trying to fix another group's performance, such as "Pharmacy should deliver meds on time" and "The providers need to round more frequently". Bring it back to "What we can do".

Purpose- Make sure the purpose of the meeting is clear. Is it to breakdown business goals (not sure what that means) or to create personal development goals? Drill down on your broadly worded goals and reword them as measurable, doable and actionable goals.

Clarity-Is the purpose of the meeting clear to all? If each member cannot independently articulate the purpose of the meeting, it is not clear enough.

Focus- Your main challenge as a group leader is to keep the group focused and on track. Know what you hope to accomplish in measurable terms before each meeting and stay on point.

Accountability-When action items are decided, make sure you send minutes with who is to do what by when. Delegate and do not take on all the work yourself.

Read up on group process and decision making to educate yourself about the common challenges and how to overcome barriers to change.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!