by Bruce Myint |
November 01, 2004
Perhaps that last meeting was less
than perfect. What can you do next time to make it better?
Analyzing even a failed project need not be a deadly task,
according to Christopher M. Avery, Ph.D., author of Teamwork Is an
Individual Skill: Getting Your Work Done When Sharing
Responsibility (Berrett-Koehler). Following are tips offered by
Avery on his website, www.partnerwerks.com.
Stay positive. Call attention to the excitement
shared at the onset of the project. Since everyone intended the
event to be a success, the focus should be on learning and
correction, not blame and punishment.
Words matter. Stay results-focused by
brainstorming what worked and what didn’t work, instead of what was
right or wrong.
Avoid criticism. Since constructive criticism
can make people defensive, try sensitively discussing with
teammates how their actions affected you or someone else. This
helps colleagues understand how they might have contributed to an
undesirable result.
Recognize success. Don’t fixate only on
contentious issues and negatives. Be sure to point out
satisfactions and positives. Postmortems can be helpful after
successful projects as well.