The Kickoff Meeting Agenda – Part 2

In Part 1 we began to cover some common topics or actions that need to be covered as part of most every project kickoff meeting.  In this Part 2, we’ll cover the remaining four items that should be touched on when you kickoff an engagement with the customer…

Develop team norms

The project manager should explain that the norms serve as guidelines for participation in team meetings. One thing that is learned through the operation of self-managing work teams is that norms (also called rules of procedure or engagement) play an important role in team meetings and in team collaboration. The project manager must explain the norms and ensure overall understanding and importance of concepts such as: “never let a meeting run over two hours,” “arrive on time,” “stick with the agenda,” “come prepared,” “do not interrupt each other during discussions,” “focus disagreements on project outcomes, not personalities,” etc.

Discuss collaborative leadership

The project manager should discuss collaborative leadership, stressing that team members share in this leadership, and that this is done through spontaneous leadership role-playing.  However, it needs to be stressed that critical decision-making responsibility still lies with the project manager and critical communication and decision-making must go through the PM.

Cover conflict resolution and consensus decisions

The project manager should lead a discussion of the personal conflicts that can arise between team members during a project. It must be explained that if conflict does not become personalized, it can be channeled toward reaching good project decisions. The principles of reaching a consensus decision also should be explained.

Review the draft project plan and schedule

The project manager should pass out a copy of the project schedule with tentative task dates, to each team kickoff meeting participant. Discuss with the customer and team that they will be following a series of steps to complete the project. Review the draft dates and milestones in the project schedule and ensure that all participants understand the tasks and expected dates.  Gaining agreement – especially with the customer – on key project dates at this early stage of the engagement is critical to moving forward on the project.  Without such agreement, the project really can’t begin because you’ll be working toward a project schedule that has not yet been accepted.

One final note – it is imperative that the project manager emphasize how important it is that each team member stay focused on their assigned tasks and communicate any issues they are having as early as possible.  Delays in taking corrective action on issues can cause significant problems with the project timeline and budget, which can ultimately be responsible for the success or failure of the entire project.  Stress that prioritization must be given to the assigned tasks and the schedule must be adhered to.

Information for this article was derived, in part, from Hall and Johnson’s book entitled, “Integrated Project Management.”

Related posts:

1. Nailing the Project Kickoff Meeting – Part 1
2. The Kickoff Meeting Agenda – Part 1
3. Nailing the Project Kickoff Meeting – Part 2
4. Getting the Kickoff Right
5. Kickoff and Exploration: VIP Admission Only