Hi everyone,
I have a good sort of challenge on my hands which I've been noodling:
BLUF - my organization is growing and I'm faced with either 14 folks in my staff meeting, or splitting it up somehow. I have a mixture of manager directs and non-manager directs and would like like guidance on how to structure attendance to my staff meeting to be most effective.
Background: We're a smallish startup (< 25 people). Given recent growth, I have a little more than half of the team in my part of the organization, which spans 3 functional areas. Currently, I have two directs (managers) who have each hired 1 or two more people, for a total of 2 and 3 directs each. The rest of the team report directly to me, though some of the new junior folks (summer interns whom we hope we can keep) will report to other team members in a team lead capacity (1 direct each; hopefully more to come).
Because we've been relatively small (and are a startup), up til now I've had the whole team (8 people until the last month) in my staff meeting.
With the recent hires and layering I'll have 6 direct reports, all of whom except 2 have at least one of their own reports. So: do I continue my staff as a big "all hands" meeting with my managers alongside junior folks, or do I split this up somehow?
I'm sensitive to the fact that if I push people who have been in my staff out of that meeting, that sends a signal. I'm also sensitive to the fact that having meetings with 14 people in them are very expensive. Complicating this is the fact that I have 3 functional areas under me, so a junior guys' reports from one team mean little to the manager of a different functional area.
As always, I'd welcome any guidance/thoughts/lessons learned.
Thank you!
Have the staff meeting with your directs only
I would have your weekly staff meeting with your 6 direct reports and let your direct have the meeting with their directs. It has been my experience that the sooner you give the authority and responsibility over your skips to your directs the better, and that includes having them handle staff meeting with their people.
Inevitably when there is growth some people will get further from the founder in a start up. Just make sure you remain approchable as a person. An ex colleague of mine, General Manager for a company who grew from 1 to 35 people, still greets everyone in the company every morning, one by one, but he only has the staff meetings with his directs.
i believe there are a couple of podcasts on having meetings with your skips. I don't recall exactly but I believe something like every two months.
Also monthly or every second month communication meeting with he whole company are good, but they are more you cascading key information than getting input from the employees.
i think there is nothing wrong with inviting your skips for lunch or breakfast every now and then too.
But above all, make sure you either have good managers or train your managers well, so that they become an extension of your vision for the company.
congratulations on the growth and good luck! Keep growing!
nara
Drucker's the man. Again.
Just yesterday, I ran across a relevant situation in "The Effective Executive", chapter 2. An executive knew his meetings were too large, because he had his whole team in them. But he had been reluctant to reduce the size of meetings for fear of the uninvited feeling slighted and left out.
His solution was to invite only the people he considered necessary to a meeting, with a notice to everyone else of the topic(s) to be discussed, and an invitation to attend if they felt they needed to participate in the discussion, and promised a summary to be delivered to everyone.
That's not a complete solution to your issue, but looks like a useful intermediate step to consider.
I suspect that if your growth continues (congratulations!) you'll find yourself having to move to a staff meeting with only your directs. The step above may help your full staff get used to the idea that they don't need to attend your meeting to be a fully integrated part of the organization.
--
Dennis Sherman
7-1-1-7