The Yin and Yang of Team Meetings

To the left is the Yin-Yang symbol, which everyone is familiar with. According to ancient Chinese understanding, the outer circle represents everything, while the white and black areas represent the interaction between two energies that makes everything happen.

We can apply this concept to achieving successful team meetings.

If the circle represents the successful team meeting there are two  groups of behaviors that are needed to make the successful meeting happen: Task Management and Team Maintenance.

This includes the activities to get the job done. A project manager provides the structuring processes to effectively organize, follow-up and complete the project activities. This includes ensuring that project work is divided into meaningful tasks, responsibilities are clear, and team members are held accountable for their work. The project manager also needs to stimulate communication and provide clarification and assistance where needed.

This includes activities to keep the team aligned and participating. The project manager needs to watch for unhealthy disagreements or hostilities in the team. Tensions can often arise, due to time pressure or interpersonal issues, and the project manager is wise to resolve them as soon as they arise instead of letting things escalate. The project manager must also ensure that all team members feel motivated to participate and  that they are welcome to contribute and provide their input. Put simply, the project manager must care for his team members, and show that he cares. By doing that and functioning as a supportive partner to the team, he will gain trust and commitment from the team, which is critical to the project’s success.

Truly successful project managers apply both, while the team maintenance behaviors are easily forgotten in the heat of the battle.