If you are tired of wasting time on projects that lack direction then maybe a plan of action meeting could be the answer.
But “What is a plan of action meeting?” we hear you cry!
A plan of action meeting is designed to develop and discuss a course of action for achieving specific goals. It’s used by teams and organizations to ensure that everyone involved in a project or initiative is on the same page with the bigger picture, project timeline, and individual responsibilities.
While arguably this sounds like “just another meeting”, it’s a laser-focused, target-driven event, with very clear goals. It also requires some pre-planning and coordination to make it absolutely solid.
It’s essentially a meeting to create an action plan.
Plan of Action Meeting Tips
When should an action plan be created in a meeting?
We say strike while the iron is hot!
An action plan, and associated meeting to create one, should be created as soon as a problem is identified, or a project and goals have been established.
From this point of view it’s fresh in people’s minds. And rather than adding it to the neverending to-do list, you can take action (as the name suggests!) right away.
It’s a critical step in any project management process and can help ensure that everyone involved understands their role and the timeline for completion.
During the plan of action meeting, team members should also discuss potential roadblocks or challenges to completing the task so solutions can be discussed and agreed upon.
Tips to enhance a plan of action meeting
While every different company, and even every different individual, will each have its own view on how a meeting such as this can come together, there are some key things that need to be in each one.
The ultimate aim of any kind of strategy meeting, or creating a plan of action, should be to come out with a very clear set of actions that are free from any opportunity for misinterpretation.
This means that there is little to no room for error, and each member and department can crack on with tasks that go towards the common goal, each with a clear process to follow.
Here are our top tips to approach a plan of action meeting:
Start with setting a goal or desired outcome
What do you want to do? Super simple, but needs to be definied!
A clear, specific objective should be established before the meeting begins so that everyone is on the same page from the start. By ensuring that everyone has the same definition of success, it will be much easier to create an actionable plan.
Establish roles and responsibilities
No passing the buck on our watch! During the meeting, each team member should have a clear understanding of their individual roles and how they fit into the collective effort. While departments can offer a fresh perspective, it needs to be clear who makes the decisions overall. It can be democratic, but make sure that the KPIs and overall targets are not being set by people who aren’t aware of the day-to-day workings of the team. They may never be achievable if there is no “insider knowledge” to confirm that it will work.
Set a clear agenda
Make sure you know what you’re going to talk about. There is no bigger time waste than having no plan… I mean it’s literally the whole point of the meetinig in the first place!
It’s important to set a clear agenda and timeline for the meeting so team members know what is expected of them and when. The agenda should include items such as goal setting, task overviews, and problem-solving.
Prioritize tasks
What is the most important thing? Different people may have different ideas but prioritizing the most important tasks for completion should be done early in the meeting. This will ensure that everyone is in agreement with the focus of the meeting. It will also help ensure that each task is given adequate time and resources to complete it on time.
Set realistic timelines
How many times have we given 20 minutes for a task that took over an hour? Time, while finite, does have a habit of running away from you.
Realistic timelines will help ensure that expectations are properly managed and understood. It’s very easy to think that something will take a very specific amount of time, but adding in an extra bit of time allows for any delays, or external impacts to be accounted for.
Consider and prepare for potential roadblocks
Ok, so it might be a bit “negative” but discussing potential roadblocks ahead of time can help to anticipate them and create better solutions to prevent any disruptions in progress. These roadblocks can be anything from external factors such as changes in legislation or internal factors, like resource constraints, team sickness, managing unexpected business travel expenses, etc.
Use tools and templates to help organize information
Let’s get you tooled up! By using tools such as project management software, templates, or collaboration boards can help to organize meeting notes and action plans.
We have listed a number we recommend below in this article, however, it’s important to make sure that everybody is onboard and engaged with the tools. They can’t be overly complicated, or too geared up toward a single department’s needs if you expect everybody to use them. Also factor in time for how long they take to set up and learn.
Don’t have too many people at the meeting
Ever heard the phrase “Too many cooks spoil the broth”? When it comes to a plan of action meeting, take heed!
On the project overall you want as many people working in harmony towards the same goal and outcome, but in the planning stages… while we would always recommend that it should be democratic – having too many people trying to talk and get their point across can be detrimental and cause roadblocks.
Each team required within the project should have a representative (and this could be a manager or department head, or someone who works hands-on to give the best representation of what is feasible).
The meeting can then be shared later on, across the whole project team.
Tools to help support a plan of action
Tools are great and with a long term goal or plan in mind, there are some excellent ones that help manage efficiency and workload, improve productivity, and just make things a lot smoother and easier.
Here are a few of our favorites:
Miro
The visual platform Miro’s brainstorming templates provide a structure for participants to make decisions or come to conclusions. This structure encourages creative exploration and collaboration, which can help the team to create an effective plan of action. It’s also a great way to keep everybody engaged rather than showing static slides that are prepared beforehand.
tl;dv
tl;dv is a great meeting tool that makes it easy to identify when action points are identified during meetings. With tl;dv, you can catch up on strategy meeting discussions and assign action items to specific people by tagging them in the call. It can also transcribe Zoom recordings and is overall a great piece of meeting management software.
Trello
Loads of great ideas but no way of keeping track and managing them. Then project management tool Trello can help you to create a meeting agenda and assign tasks to attendees. It’s also simple enough that it can be set up while on a shared screen, ready to go in just a few minutes.
This makes it easy for each individual or department to know what tasks they’re responsible for, as well as understand the bigger picture of the project from start to finish.
Plus you get to tick things off when you’ve done them and that feels GOOOOOOOOD!
ProductPlan
If your project is all about product development, then ProductPlan is a great road-mapping tool for creating and managing this.
As well as mapping out project plans you can track progress over time. The visuals are also an easy way to share and understand information between various members of the team – perfect for anybody who needs to explain abstract concepts to those who are more fact-based.
Meeting action items templates
Templates are effectively someone doing a lot of the hard work for you, and then you just fill in the details.
Not technically cheating, but a LOT easier.
Action item templates are a great tool to help organize and document the tasks you need to complete. They provide a quick overview of who is responsible for what, when the task needs to be completed, and what the goal or outcome is.
Here are a few from across the web that could be of use:
Happy Planning!
By investing a bit of time into planning and preparing for meetings, you really can make sure that those conversations stay on track, action items are documented, and teams are able to work together. By being proactive and actually taking the time to plan you give any team, company, or organization that works together, the path of least resistance when it comes to achieving that HENCH BIG MASSIVE DREAM goal.
So whether you want to build a rocket to explore Mars, or just want to launch a brand new website, a plan of action meeting – properly organized and with the best resources possible – will absolutely help you to shoot to the Moon… erm, Mars… better check that map before you set off.
