Kick-off meetings

Project kickoff meetings are extremely important. During this meeting the members must get to know each other. In order for a project to function properly one of the team members must assume the leadership position and become the team leader. If nobody wants to assume that role voluntarily the team must implement a process to select the team leader. A simple way to select a team leader is by placing all the names of the players in a cup to pick a person. There are other important tasks that must be completed during the kickoff meeting. The members should perform a brainstorming session to gather ideas. The team leader must assign different work to each of the members. A schedule of weekly meetings must be prepared. The team also has to set delivery dates to ensure the project is completed on time. “ In any effective meeting, participants are better off when they have a clear understanding of how it will progress” (Sisco, 2002).
Last semester I was involved in a project for school. During that project we had a kickoff meeting when it started. The kickoff meeting was a complete disaster. The members of the team did not communicate well. The members were constantly arguing with each other. Two people wanted the team leadership position. After the two hour meeting we did not accomplish anything. This experience taught me that kickoff meetings should be handled differently. In the future whenever I get a chance to participate in a kickoff meeting once again I will try to do things differently. The first thing that I will focus on during a kickoff meeting is to keep the lines of communication open. I will also act more proactively by performing research prior to the meeting in order to bring good ideas to the table from the start.
References
Sisco, M. (2002). Follow these steps to conduct an effective project kickoff meeting. Retrieved February 27, 2013 from http://www. techrepublic. com/article/follow-these-steps-to-conduct-an-effective-project-kickoff-meeting/1038766