If you recall, in the previous post I covered what is an action required. And in this post, we're going to go over how to track them in the context of a meeting.
In most cases, actions required, or ARs for short, should be formally captured and not left up to chance to be completed. During the course of a meeting, you will invariably run across something that will need to be done. In some cases everyone will know who is the likely owner but in other cases the facilitator will want to find a volunteer. If no volunteer is found the person giving the AR can attempt to enlist someone to take it on. Otherwise the facilitator might assign an AR to someone depending upon their role in the organization (e.g. manager, organization leader, etc.)
If you recall, ARs are a negotiation, so there is generally someone giving the AR and one or more people to take on the AR, pending their acceptance. As noted previously, this acceptance is key as it will ferret out all kinds of potential issues for the completion. Assuming there is time in the meeting, it's often best to have a brief discussion of these issues rather than spend time later doing so as this creates unnecessary touchpoints.
Often the facilitator is the person giving ARs, especially for process, project and staff/team meetings. They should be diligent to capture all aspects of the AR including what it is, who it's assigned to and when it's due. If the meeting is a regular occurrence or series, it can be extremely helpful to segment out a portion of every meeting to review prior ARs and their statuses.
From a process and communication perspective, the meeting minutes should clearly list all the ARs and on the next invite, the list of ARs due, or to be discussed, should also be listed as to reduce any surprises along the way. If someone has an AR that is due and they are unable to attend the meeting, it is their responsibility to relay the status and any pertinent information to the facilitator or someone else in attendance as to not slow down the team or reduce the meeting effectiveness.
ARs are a powerful tool in ensuring work gets done, roadblocks get removed and there's positive momentum for your business. Some may see them as an unnecessary encumbrance, but without them, you limit how effective your team and your meetings can be. If there was a single thing one could do, to instantly supercharge your meetings, using and tracking ARs would be at the top of the list.