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At Echo Consulting, LLC we believe in radical transparency and flexibility with accountability. What is radical transparency and how do we practice it? 1. All team members are aware of all other team member’s salaries and profit share bonuses. 2. All team member’s goals are shared with the entire team. 3. When a team member is struggling with one of their goals or role expectations, it is shared on our CRAID log as a risk or issue so team members can help and offer support. 4. Company financials are shared with the entire team quarterly and any team member may request a cashflow update at any time. 5. All business development goals are shared with the team and updated at least monthly so that everyone knows if we are 6. The Echo team is encouraged to meet at least quarterly (without me) and provide feedback on how we can/should improve the culture and work environment at Echo Consulting – Most recently the team completed a KALM (Keep, Add, Less, More). The feedback was provided as a team. Radical transparency is seldom comfortable. Sometimes sharing information with the whole team feels unnatural or even intrusive. Calling out individuals for their wins and accomplishments is more generally accepted, but exposing our weaknesses to others, even within our team can make us feel vulnerable. So why do we do it? How can we foster psychological safety on our team if our individual risks and issues are shared openly? If one person is paid more for the same role, doesn’t that cause tension? I think Simon Sinek says it well “A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” As a team, we need all members to bring their best selves to work. We do not all contribute equally all of the time – and that is ok and should be expected. But we all have a responsibility to push each other to do our best for the good of the team, for the good of our clients, and the good of our community. We should be empowered as individuals to express and be confident in the value we bring, and when that is in comparison to others on the team, having those goals/contributions open to the team helps that conversation be constructive. It's not always easy, but it is an important step. How transparent is your team? How can we improve transparency at Echo? As we like to say at Echo – Sharing is Caring!

I am so excited to come to Echo after many years of project management and operational experience at organizations in Washington, DC and Vermont. I’ve worked with government agencies, local service providers, non-profits, and start-ups, and seen many ways to manage projects. All the organizations I’ve worked with strove to follow some kind of project management strategy, and often leaned on software tools for help, choosing from the myriad of options now available. But no matter the team configuration or specifics of the project deliverables, there was always an “x” factor in my past organizations that I noticed could make or break a project: leadership. No matter how all-inclusive a project management solution may sound, it can never substitute totally for good leadership. Bad Leadership Undermines Project Execution In fact, bad leadership, or a lack of leadership (which is really the same thing) can undermine the most diligently planned project, often without anyone realizing that it is happening. I’ve learned this somewhat through negatives – by seeing and experiencing many examples of inadequate or dysfunctional leadership. I worked with several large organizations that had very centralized, charismatic leadership that easily rallied the team around the same vision – but provided no protection for workers against burnout and cycled through new hires on a semi-annual basis. This was extremely demoralizing to the team and undermined many long-term efforts as team members left so frequently. I’ve also spent countless hours on idealistic, well-planned efforts in the non-profit space that eventually flopped due to inadequate resourcing and a lack of stakeholder buy-in. The appeal of “doing good” in the world, even when backed up by worthy and tangible projects, is not enough when there aren’t enough people or funds to fully execute on the work. I’ve also worked on teams that had great culture and support for team members but lacked overall vision and measurable goals. These teams were just “getting by” month to month with the immediate work in front of them, but the lack of direction or movement towards objectives that everyone could join led to team members working at cross-purposes, if at all. It also made meaningful planning beyond the immediate days or weeks extremely difficult. Bad Leadership Undermines Project Management How can this kind of project failure happen so consistently across different projects and organizations? While the specifics are different for each case, the overall theme is a lack of comprehensive and strategic leadership. In these previous experiences, efforts were made to use project management methods and tools to organize work and deliver outcomes, but missing or ill-suited leadership pieces ultimately sunk the projects or prevented work from getting off the ground in the first place. Part of what makes good or bad leadership hard to identify at many organizations is that it is often invisible – while leaders may be failing to unify and nurture their teams, visualize and commit to long-term goals, or wholistically plan for all aspects of project work, there are often no metrics or common workspaces where these problems are being surfaced. Good Project Management Can Strengthen Leadership This is where project management methods and software tools can drastically improve a team’s experience and outcomes – by making all aspects of project planning “visible” and measurable. As long as leaders, and their teams, are willing to learn and grow, project management solutions can help create a better structure for their work and surface the areas where teams can improve into the future. Making a change to adopt a new solution is risky for leaders and their teams – it takes time, investment, and holds the possibility of failure. But, the process of changing to use a project management solution, and helping your team adopt it, not only holds the promise of more high-quality projects delivered on time, but of leadership improvement, team growth, and overall work satisfaction. I look forward to working with Echo clients to achieve this kind of project success! At Echo, we believe in working with leaders and teams wherever they are, whether they need help articulating foundational goals or organizing large Project Management Offices (PMOs). Too many projects fail, often due to leadership issues, but it doesn’t have to be that way – we can assist with any aspect of project management and organizational change you might be ready to tackle. Reach out to us through our contact form or email ContactUs@EchoConsultingPM.com – we’d love to hear from you.

Watch this video for a step-by-step tutorial on How to Build a Dashboard in Smartsheet from scratch. Watch an expert create a dashboard from start to finish in under an hour. With a focus on DIY from basics to advanced dashboard skills, Kelly creates a Project Dashboard during this value packed live webinar. Learn how to add different types of metrics and charts to a Smartsheet Dashboard and configure them. Learn how to connect sheets and reports to highlight the most important information. Learn tips and tricks on how to save time and make your dashboard more meaningful to viewers. Kelly Pratt from Echo Consulting has created hundreds of dashboards for dozens of clients and she shares best practices on how to create dashboards that are meaningful, user friendly, and incorporate Smartsheet new features and best practices for the best results. Looking for support with your Smartsheet solution? You could work with Kelly and the team at Echo Consulting to optimize your Smartsheet platform!

What is RASCI? In Project Management circles, you'll hear a lot of acronyms. One of the most useful and common ones is RASCI, and it's a key tool in your project management toolbox. When you're managing a project, you need to know who the stakeholders are, what their roles and responsibilities are, and who they are reporting to. Every person involved with a project will likely wear many hats, and RASCI will help you clearly identify them. What does RASCI mean? RASCI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Supportive, Consulted, and Informed. Let’s break down what those mean: [R]esponsible – This person manages the day-to-day work to make sure goals, requirements, and/or quality standards are met [A]ccountable – This person is often the project owner. They are ultimately the one who folks look to when inquiring about a project's progress. They control the project resources, report to leadership on progress toward goals / success factors. [S]upportive – These people are assigned to the project team to complete tasks or activities based on subject matter expertise (SME). Supportive people are able to provide resources to the responsible project team members, and they are actively involved in working with the Responsible person to see the project through to completion. [C]onsulted – These people give advice on an as-needed basis. People who are consulted have information, opinions, or experience needed for completion of the project. Their job is to support the responsible and accountable parties. [I]nformed – These people need to be kept in the loop during a project. They may be executive leadership, or otherwise be an important stakeholder who needs to be kept informed throughout the project. They receive regular communication on progress to facilitate buy-in/adoption. How is RASCI used? The beauty of RASCI lies in its simplicity and effectiveness. It helps the project manager see who is working directly on the project and what their roles are, as well as who is connected to the project but not involved in the day-to-day activities. When assigning roles for a project, consider using the RASCI matrix. Make a list of everyone on the project, and decide who is responsible, accountable, supporting, consulted, and informed for every single deliverable. Why do I need it? The RASCI matrix will provide clarity on roles and responsibilities, therefore promoting efficiency and forward progress. Projects only stay on track when responsibilities are clear. It's clear who a team member needs to go to for help when there's a clear outline in place. Example: A family has hired a contractor to build them a house. The team includes a foreman, a build crew, architect, town inspector, and the homeowners. Who is ultimately responsible for completion of the project? Foreman Who is accountable to the project owner? Contractor Who needs to be consulted? Architect, Homeowners Who will be supportive? Builders, Inspector Who needs to be informed about progress? Homeowners, Inspector As you can see, everyone plays a critical role in this project, and with RASCI those roles are clear. When roles aren't clearly defined, things fall through the cracks and projects (and teams) suffer. Want some help creating project management plans for your organization? Get in touch with us and let's chat!

In the video below, you will learn how to use Smartsheet for your businesses projects and tasks. Smartsheet allows you to have everything in one place. You can assign tasks to many people in your business and you can see all the tasks that need to be done. The person will also be notified and they can view the files. You can mark certain tasks more important or urgent, so they get done sooner! The layout is so easy to understand and also the main menu is easy to navigate, so even if you are not tech savvy, you can still understand this software well. We will show you how we use a CRAID log sheet in Smartsheet to keep track of all of the Changes, Risks, Actions, Issues, Decisions. We then use a combination of filters, conditional formatting, reports, forms, automations, and dashboards to make sure that users are always able to see the most important open items, who owns them, and when they are due. We have implemented CRAID logs in many different tools (Smartsheet, Monday.com, Planner, Trello, Asana, Excel, Teams, etc) - The important part is to focus meetings on actions and ownership or documenting decisions that either are made during the meeting or need to be made in order to move forward. Risk and Issues that are identified need owners and mitigation strategies. If you would like help implementing CRAID and other business process improvements in Smartsheet or other Work Management tools, please reach out. We love helping teams GROW MORE and Struggle LESS! We offer hourly, flat fee and retainer options for project management and business process automation support. Contact us to learn more!

When I think of project management I think of organization and strategic planning. Many years ago I received a label maker as a gift. I was so excited by this and to this day it is one of the best gifts ever for me. Now many of you are saying – Seriously a label maker? For me, when I have organization my mind has calmness. When I can find something quickly, I save time, energy and avoid frustration. When an item is easily identified it can be followed and tracked. All these are the beauty of a label. What is in a label? A label is knowledge and information based on attributes Labels are tags that are influencers to guide perceptions and interpretations Labels are differentiating parameters that lead to an understanding, they create imaging for our brain to learn and perceive the concept, category, groups and the process Project Management & Labels: Project management is all about the strategic planning and alignment to goals leading to success and continuous sustainable improvement. In project management we coordinate the activities of teams, in tasks, categories, phases, tags, process steps with the use of labels. Project labels can indicate: Prioritization of Tasks Align Categories Connect Goals Health of Time Frames (Project Schedules) Status of Progression Project labels group together, highlight or classify activities based on what is wanted in the project resulting in clarity and understanding of expectations and increase performance. Labels in project management enable teams to discover, filter, manage and report on project progress leading to its success. With this level of organization, teams can learn to easily recognize the labels, their meaning and next steps. All contributing to the projects’ success. In project management it is important to categorize your tasks into labels. Task labeling simplifies task management and is very effective means to track tasks and productivity of the project. Some helpful hints when using labels in your projects: Keep it simple – Avoid complexity in labeling, keep naming text to a minimum Label tasks once – Either on one side of the page or on the task itself; this keeps the plan simple and uncluttered. Abbreviations are ok – Avoid wordy descriptions Use color – Color in a project plan is an instant visualization. Use color to indicate repetitive tasks or types of tasks that can be grouped. In the world of project management labels help us prepare for success.

I love a good “bumper sticker phrase” to sum up a Big Idea – something to you can just shoot across the table at someone in a conversation and sit back and watch the gears start turning inside their mind as they unpack your verbal slap-shot into the back of the net. When framing a project, I always ask the lead to explain to me the Why, the Where and the How. Sounds goofy and gimmicky, but that's the point. Don’t get me wrong; I think formal processes, procedures, and templates in project planning and management are essential for successful planning and execution. As project managers and those who are part of project teams and efforts to get a project done, it can be easy to get caught up in one methodology or way of framing what we’re truly trying to get done. But we must be able to intuitively understand why we are working on a project, especially when getting involved in the execution phase. This is when deadlines seem perpetually tight, deliverables maybe aren’t quite tangible yet, and working in project teams seems like herding cats in a pond of molasses (let visual sink in for a minute). So rather than think about scope, deliverables, schedule, WBS, change Management, etc., let's reframe this. The project is just trying to solve a problem. To understand a problem, we really need to know Why it exists, Where we are trying to get to a solution, and How we will make it a reality. The Why One skill I learned in the military was how to operate within “Commander’s Intent” when given a mission or task. Commander’s Intent was the very broad description of how leadership viewed successful execution of the task we were given and why we were doing it. Contrary to the “Ours is not to wonder Why” axiom, we always knew the Why. Understanding the Why in any operation gave us the greater context of how our planning and execution mattered. We could fall back to The Why to frame decisions made on the fly in dynamic environments. The Why is the project charter, business case, or project sponsor’s strategic intent. The Why frames to an objective state of completion in any task within a project. The Why provides the clarity of purpose, the business benefit, or the risk of not completing the project. The Why is motivation for the project team to form the crucial conversations once work begins on quality and adherence to Scope, Schedule, and Budget. The Where I remember as a kid when my dad started putting his boots on to go outside to the garage to get a tool or to get firewood from the woodpile; I’d always ask “Hey where are you going?” His reply? “Crazy, wanna go?”. Ultimate Dad Joke. So, years later, it occurred to me that the punchline speaks about how there isn’t a physical place on the ground. It's a bit more conceptual. The Where is Scope, but more importantly, it’s the milestones of the project where deliverables intersect with project work, resources, and quality. Once a project gets underway and the details of a killer WBS combined with the hum of an efficient change management process pile up in the backlog, it is easy to lose The Where in gantt charts as the pressure builds to deliver. Where are we taking this process, product, phase? The end-user. The How How often can we reflect on projects in which someone already had a plan for how the project would get done right – before the first project team meeting? Then a vendor changes the date for delivery of parts. Oh, and BTW- Biz Dev was overly enthusiastic with your customer on that new cuba-majig-prototypy thing burning up time on your 5-axis CNC. The molasses is going to hit the fan (maybe a few cats too) because it's 60 man-hours behind that planned schedule. Now, we are racing to find resources, crash schedules, and expend money and time to get things moving of that 5-Axis CNC mill. The How connects The Why and Where. It's tempting to start with The How. Just lean on the subject matter experts within a project team to sketch out how to get it done, right? But how are we going to do the work? How are we going to resource it? Without understanding the two distant points of the journey, navigating there might get sporty. Yes, this blog is heavily tongue in cheek in my approach to an essential concept of communicating important project management principles. Regardless of your PM Professional Credential of choice, sworn by Project Methodology, or desire to burn it all down and forsake PM formalities, I’ll leave with you this thought: projects are just taking a crazy idea to make the world better somehow. Humans frame our most crucial project – life – with The Why, The Where, and The How daily. Why not with other projects as well? Written by Brian Huyler, Project Manager/Analyst with Echo Consulting

It's never easy to start something new, even when you're open to change. As I reflect back on my first month with Echo Consulting, I can relate to the uncomfortable feeling that comes with entering the unknown and taking a leap. Prior to joining the Echo team, I spent many years coaching and training women business owners around navigating self-employment, guiding them through their fear and uncertainty so they could make smart decisions moving toward their future. When I joined Echo, I had a new, exciting opportunity to use my skills and practice what I teach, forcing me to step out of my own comfort zone for positive change. Change: The Great Unknown People resist change for many reasons, but there's almost always some element of fear involved. Even when it’s positive, change is bound to be uncomfortable. Maybe there's a lot of moving parts involved, like a cross-country move or a company restructuring. Maybe you're trying to change too many things at once (ex: New Year’s resolutions), putting you smack in the middle of overwhelm and chaos. Maybe you're not actually sure that the change you're considering will be worth it and you're afraid that you won't get the results you're looking for. Maybe you’re afraid of failing. True, you might fail, but what will happen if you do nothing? Well, nothing...at least for now. Eventually, you’ll find that you need to change something whether you want to or not. And it’s important to remember that we can miss out on some amazing opportunities and experiences when we get too set in our ways. Not all change requires a big life change. You don't have to make a career change or move to a new city to try something new. Maybe you want to start a new habit, try a class, or take up a new hobby. Maybe you want to introduce a new product/service for your business at the beta level, or hire your first employee. Be open to the possibilities! Whatever change you’re considering, here's where to start: Be realistic. When you have realistic expectations, patience, and clear goals, change can be exciting and fun! Stay curious. Curiosity and fear can't co-exist, so practice curiosity and think of this new thing as an experiment. No pressure. Take your time. Don't try to change everything overnight. Be patient, as hard as that can be. You need time to observe the results of your efforts and adjust as needed. Clarity is key. Get super clear on what you want, why you want it, how you will gauge success, and when to pivot if needed. Ask for help. Enlist the guidance and assistance of others who have experience and insight that can help you. It’s great for accountability, too. Have an action plan. Once you've identified your goals, it's time to identify all the steps that need to happen to help you reach those goals. That's where a trusted partner can help. For example, if you're looking to improve your company's systems so things run smoother and you have a bigger profit, we can help with that. Start with one thing and take the first step. Just one step is all it takes to start moving. Then take another step, and another, and you're on your way.

The holiday shopping season is almost upon us and with Black Friday and Cyber Monday right around the corner, it can be easy to forget the small local businesses that keep our community thriving. We are so lucky in Vermont to have so many wonderful local businesses to meet anyone’s shopping list – what’s better than being able to support our local economy and buy thoughtful gifts that will light up everyone's faces on your list? Gift Basket with Local Vermont Favorites When you think of quality, local Vermont products the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind is maple syrup, cheese, and of course craft beer. One of my favorite gift ideas, especially for out-of-state family and friends, is creating a personalized gift basket with various local Vermont products. Because everyone loves Cheese, I usually start with some local cheese from either Cabot or Dakin Farm mixed with some meats from Vermont Smoke & Cure. For those on my list with a sweet tooth – I always add chocolates from Lake Champlain Chocolates and maple syrup from Runamok Maple (the sparkle syrup is always a hit). I like to finish off my gift baskets with some local craft beer based on the receiver. People are always thrilled to receive any of the local brews we’ve gifted. A few favorites especially for non-locals Heady Topper from The Alchemist or Sip of Sunshine from Lawsons Finest Liquids. Gifts to Keep them Warm Vermont Winters can be so long and cold that a gift everyone appreciates is something to keep them warm and cozy. They’ll think of you every time they wear them! You can’t go wrong with a gift from Vermont Flannel Company whether it’s a nice shirt, blanket, or pajamas! While socks may seem like a lackluster gift – there is nothing disappointing about receiving a pair of Darn Tough Socks Christmas morning. Made with Merino Wool, their socks are not only warm and cozy but are manufactured with sustainability in mind and have a lifetime guarantee! Skida is another local Vermont brand that you can’t go wrong when gifting - perfect for any outdoor enthusiast on your list! I like to pair socks from Darn Tough with a nice hat from Skida as a gift to keep them warm from their head to their toes! For the Home Beautifully crafted, handmade products are always an appreciated gift. Bennington Potters have been a local favorite since 1948 with each piece of stoneware carefully crafted and unique – no two pieces are exactly alike! The Trigger Mug is a popular favorite and a great piece to get anyone started on a collection. Simon Pearce is another company that makes beautiful, handcrafted products. Guaranteed to wow anyone on your list and manufactured with environmental sustainability in mind by using hydroelectricity, solar polar, and thoughtful packaging. Experience Gifts You can never go wrong with giving the gift of an experience and family time together. For families, gift certificates to the Echo Center or Shelburne Farms are a great way to support local businesses and give the gift of memories and educational fun for the whole family! It’s no secret that the restaurant business has been hit hard by the pandemic the last year or so, purchasing a Gift Card to a local favorite provides you the ability to support that restaurant and gift someone an evening out and a break from cooking.

If you’ve never used a platform similar to Smartsheet before, we understand it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Whether your team is using Smartsheet for project management, a project management office (PMO), budget and resourcing, content management, and more - once you have a grasp of the system, Smartsheet will empower you and your team to move faster and achieve more with their powerful core capabilities and premium add-on products. Just like anything you learn, your best learning path will depend on your learning style to determine what suits you best. Here are some resources our team and our clients have found helpful, and we recommend starting with: Learning Center Smartsheet has a very robust and extensive Learning Center complete with learning tracks broken down into user experience, webinars, help articles, and more! We recommend starting at the learning track that’s appropriate to get a comprehensive introduction and overview of the system. As you get more in-depth with Smartsheet use, the search bar in the learning center is a great place to start when searching for an answer to a question or clarification around a functionality! For continued learning, we recommend checking out the Smartsheet University. Community The Smartsheet Community is a great resource to explore and troubleshoot when issues arise. It’s likely someone else has had a similar question and you may already have a solution at your fingertips! If you’re not able to find the answer you need, you have the ability to ask a question for fellow Smartsheet users to answer. Events Smartsheet hosts a variety of events and webinars to help you take your Smartsheet use to the next level, and all can be found on the Events page in Smartsheet. They host a mixture of paid instructor-led trainings, free webinars, Q& A sessions, and more! Solution Center The Smartsheet Solution Center is a value-packed resource filled with sheet templates and template sets. Templates will always need to be adjusted for your organization and unique use case, but it is a great place to start to view best practices and examples of setting up a sheet and is much more efficient than starting from scratch. YouTube YouTube is always a great resource when learning something new to find helpful videos and tutorials whether you are learning cooking, a DIY craft, home repair, or in this case a new technology tool. Echo Consulting’s own YouTube Channel has a playlist dedicated to Smartsheet where you can find free recordings of our webinars, tips & tricks, tutorials, and new feature highlights. We recommend following to receive updated content and starting with our Smartsheet: Best Practices webinar. If you are looking to implement Smartsheet for your organization and would like an expert to assure best practices are followed in the initial design and data structure and to conduct training to assure successful adoption, Echo Consulting is proud to be a Smartsheet Aligned Partner with multiple product-certified consultants. With our vast experience in Smartsheet Implementation as well as optimization/extension of existing Smartsheet environments – we are here to help you get maximum value from this powerful tool. Check out our Smartsheet Implementation Service offerings and reach out to ContactUs@echoconsultingpm.com for a free ½ hour discovery call.

Every business must evolve and undergo organizational change to keep up with new technology, changing markets, and demands, etc but that doesn’t mean that change is easy or comes naturally. Change can solicit a multitude of emotional responses from members of your organization and if not addressed properly can have a negative impact on the success of the change initiative. While Change Management is a very in-depth topic – here are five of the top tips we’ve found for successful change management: Active Listening Gain Leadership Support Transparency Emphasize Company Values Measure Success & Celebrate Wins Along the Way Active Listening Good communication is essential in every aspect of an organization – while communicating and reporting to the stakeholders and team members is important, it is often forgotten that communication needs to be a two-way street. This is especially crucial in change management as change often provokes emotions in individuals and requires the correct response to help guide them from shock & frustration to acceptance. Each team member's response will be so different that there will not be a “one size fits all” message and you will need to tailor your response to every person. Active listening is essential in this as change is accepted more positively if you solicit feedback and engage in a conversation with individuals rather than dictating and speaking to them. If your team does not feel a part of the change, they are much more likely to resist whereas if they feel they were heard and a part of the change initiative then they are much more likely to buy in. While everyone may not have a vote, they should have a voice. This means creating an open dialogue and active listening rather than dictating the change initiative. Gain Leaderships Support In the beginning, stages when proposing change, we recommend starting at the top before mentioning or introducing it to any other levels of the organization. If employees sense leadership is displaying a lack of confidence or enthusiasm in the change initiative, it will be nearly impossible to earn support from other team members. Provide workshops and trainings to leaders of all levels in the organization to build champions from within – they will be your biggest asset as you move the change initiative through the different levels of the process. Transparency It’s no secret that people can be wary of change which leads to skepticism, fear, frustration, and even anger. We find the most effective way to work through this reaction is by offering transparency. You’d be surprised how much of an impact it can have on buy-in when team members feel they are getting the full picture of what is going on and why. It’s essential to keep everyone in the loop every step of the way. This is not exclusive to the positive aspects of the change – acknowledges the risks and challenges that may arise and how to plan to work through them. Emphasize Company Values You’d be surprised how enthusiastic a team can become for change when they realize how valuable their efforts are to the overarching mission and values of the organization. Remind your team of the mission and values and how this particular initiative contributes to it. This will foster a sense of purpose in understanding how their efforts link directly to the company’s growth and success. Measure Success & Celebrate Wins Along the Way Defining clear metrics for success at the start of any initiative is essential because it gives you the ability to measure if you are hitting your targets and desired outcome. Your team should get regular reports on the progress towards their targets – take this opportunity to celebrate wins and their contribution towards these achievements. Change always comes with growing pains but recognition of the results of their effort will make it much more likely your team stays motivated and keeps momentum towards the end goal! For more information and techniques on Change Management, sign up for our webinar “Introduction to Change Management” on November 17th from 11am – 12pm.

Even though it feels as if we've been partaking in virtual meetings forever at this point, it can still be a struggle to keep your team engaged and interested during virtual meetings. It can be tempting to zone out or multitask if not engaged in the discussion and it can be more difficult to get more introverted members of your team to unmute themselves and share their valuable input. We wanted to share some of the tips we've learned over the past year to keep your team engaged during virtual meetings: Start with Small Talk or an Icebreaker Unlike in-person meetings, it can be difficult to make participants feel seen, valued & comfortable partaking in virtual meetings. To overcome this, we have found it helpful to start each meeting with small talk or an ice breaker. This makes sure that every participant knows that their presence is valued and helps to alleviate discomfort creating a safe space for participants to share throughout the meeting. Ask Participants Directly for Contributions Especially for your more introverted team members, it can be challenging to get them to unmute themselves and share their valuable input. We have found that asking participants directly for input is a great way to assure everyone stays engaged and their voices heard. Utilize Tools for Brainstorming, Voting, or Feedback Virtual collaboration tools have come a long way in the past few years and we highly recommend utilizing these programs in your virtual meetings to improve engagement. Our favorites to utilize are virtual Whiteboards such as Mural, Miro, or the Whiteboard feature in Microsoft Teams, voting or poll taking tools or forms to solicit feedback. Give Participants Something to Do Assigning participants tasks is a great way to prevent your team from multi-tasking or zoning out. This could include note-taking, reporting on an agenda item, timekeeper, taking attendance, and more! Create a "Rules of Engagement" for Virtual Meetings for your Team Creating general “rules of engagement” for virtual meetings is a great way to set expectations and culture for your team just like you would for in-person meetings. These rules could include for cameras to be on, mics muted unless talking, utilizing the chat or hand-raising feature if someone else is talking, etc. We could share countless techniques we’ve discovered leading virtual meetings - For more tips on virtual and in-person meetings, join us for our webinar on “Best Practices for Leading Impactful Meetings” on Wednesday, October 13th from 12-12:30 pm.