Think of the worst meeting you were ever involved in, whatever your role was. (Don’t worry…we won’t stay in this memory for long).

Now, think of the best meeting you ever attended, or were a part of.

Why did one meeting work so well, and the other one flop?

The odds are very high that the good meeting had a good leader. In addition, it’s likely a lot of careful planning was involved.

Beyond that, though, the group involved in the good meeting probably used simple ground rules to guide their work together.

If that sounds a bit too bureaucratic to you, consider how kids create a game at a playground. It might be a pick-up basketball game where they’re setting the boundaries and rules of play. It might be a new game they invent.

Either way, one of the early steps in getting the game underway is to set some basic rules, boundaries, and other guidelines.

Why is setting the rules and boundaries important early in the process of getting the play underway? It helps them to:
- Make the game clear
- Focus on playing the game, not continually inventing or refining it
- Make the game fair
- Increase the chances that the game will be enjoyable
- Make the game as much fun as possible

Ground rules don’t have to be complicated.

In fact, it’s far better if they’re not.

You want rules that are clear, simple, easy to understand and teach, easy to enforce.

Ground rules also set up expectations of the way you will behave together, and how you will treat each other. And they provide a solid foundation or “home base” you can return to if the group gets lost in a heated debate.

If you need a set of ground rules you can adapt to create your own, try this set. I’ve used variations of these ground rules with more than 100 teams, and they’ve served each group well:

– Be prompt. Stay focused.

– Be an active listener and participant. Ask clarifying questions to understand others’ points of view. Be clear about your own point of view.

– Act with mutual respect.

– Emphasize inquiry and advocacy.  Inquiry: exploration of an issue, reserving judgment about the outcome. Advocacy: pushing or selling one’s position.

– Stay engaged. Stay with the team and the work until there is an outcome all parties can take credit for designing. Be flexible to accommodate information you receive in the dialogue process.

– Take personal responsibility for results.

– Turn cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices off while the group is meeting.

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