By Mandy Green
3 minute read
This article is the second in a three part series. If you missed Part 1, read it here first.
As I continue to try to help leaders maximize their staff’s productivity, I want to share with you the second rhythm.
This one is something I originally learned from my mentor Craig Ballentyne called the “Weekly Alignment Meeting” or WAM.
The goal of the weekly alignment meeting is (surprise!) to make sure that your whole staff is aligned with the core mission, 90-day goals, and weekly sprints.
The meeting flow using works like this…
First, everyone on the staff will go around the horn and share one piece of good news personally and professionally.
This breaks the ice and helps the team bond and relax before diving into the deep thinking and brainstorming that will make this meeting so effective.
Next, we share any “Team Intelligence” they’ve gathered during the previous week.
For example:
- Administrative issues that need to be resolved
- Questions that keep coming up about travel or campus tours
- Problems individuals are having
- Objections they faced from prospective students that week
And anything else that will help the staff serve students and families more effectively.
Third, you’ll dive into your “Critical Number” and 90-day theme.
For example, right now, a client I work with has a 90-day theme of “Alignment” (which they’re accomplishing by doubling down on these meeting rhythms!) and their critical number is “30 new on-campus visits this fall.”
During each WAM I have them review the progress they’ve made toward hitting their critical number and share any ideas or insights around how they can live into their quarterly theme.
(I strongly encourage you to grab a copy of Scaling Up by Verne Harnish to get clear on your critical number and quarterly theme. Even though it is written for a business audience, it has a lot of application for admissions).
After reviewing the progress from the previous week, move into the next section of the meeting (and the longest) “Collective Intelligence.”
This is a 15-30 minute segment where everyone has the opportunity to share their ideas and insights and the team can work together to collaborate and move the program closer to its critical number.
You can use this time to ask questions like:
- Is there anything we need to start/stop/double down on to hit our goal?
- What are we missing?
- How can we make this process smoother?
- What are the biggest obstacles?
Encourage everyone to share something and be sure to have someone making notes of any specification steps you identify.
Finally, you’ll move into the WWW.
Who? What? When?
During this section of the meeting, you need to get specific on the key projects that need to be completed in the next 1-2 weeks to get closer to your critical number. Then you decide “Who does what by when?” to ensure these projects are completed.
Wrap up the meeting by either rating the meeting or having everyone share a “One Phrase Close” (where everyone shares one sentence to describe how the meeting went and how they’re feeling).
Give it a try and email me at mandy@busy.coach to let me know how it goes.