Activity: Articulating Meeting Norms

Meeting regularly provides intentional opportunities for relationship building. While routine meetings provide a space where the work of the project can be completed, the mentoring experiences can continue to be present throughout these meetings as well. Setting boundaries around the management of meetings creates a safe space for mentorship to take place and mitigates any friction that may be caused due to unclear meeting conduct.

Purpose

The manner in which your regular meetings are conducted can greatly impact the success of the project. Setting boundaries around the management of meetings creates a safe space for mentorship to take place and mitigates any friction that may be caused due to unclear meeting conduct.

Time

10-20 minutes

Materials

Writing utensil and journal (optional)

Who

Mentor & Mentee

What

Make time to meet with each other regularly, such as scheduling weekly or bi-weekly meetings.:
Answer the following questions separately:
- How often will you need to meet? Might the regularity of your meetings change over the project’s timeline? What circumstances will influence how often you meet? Will the length of your meetings change over time or due to project responsibilities? How so?
- Who sets the agendas for the meetings? How will the agendas be shared? When will the agendas be shared in order for the meeting to be successful?
- Are there times when meetings can be conducted virtually? What are those circumstances, who is responsible for arranging the virtual communication, and how will the virtual tools needed for these kinds of meetings be shared?
- How will the meetings start? Are either of you coming from another meeting/class/project and need to start the meeting a little later than planned? How can you plan for that ahead of time so that expectations are shared about the start of the meeting? If you start the meeting a little later, how will that impact the work of the meeting?
- Are there certain meetings that will be considered “working” meetings? How will you keep track of “action items” or tasks that need to be completed between meetings and deadlines discussed in order to complete those tasks?
- How will you reflect on your work in these meetings? How can you build in times when you reflect on the overall project and see the big picture? How can you celebrate and be grateful in your meetings when you experience success along the way? How will you work through challenges when problems inevitably come along?
- Do you have responsibilities right after the meeting that will impact your participation in the last moments of the meeting? How can you plan for that ahead of time so that expectations are shared about the end of the meeting? If you end the meeting a little earlier, how will that impact the work of the meeting?
- When is it okay to cancel a meeting? How will you know when a meeting is cancelled?
Come together to discuss them in order to establish shared expectations about the administration of your meetings.