Are you tired of people dropping the ball? Heres the best way to assign tasks and action items â so that everything gets done on time. ð
It happens all too oftenâeveryone is full of energy in the meeting, ideas flow freely, and people commit to making things happen. The meeting ends, and everyone goes their separate ways.
A week later, the promising ideas sit untouched. No oneâs sure what steps, if any, have been taken. Meeting participants ask whether there was something they were supposed to be doing.ð¤¦
Historically, properly managing meeting tasks and action items involved messy paperwork. Meeting leaders had to come up with their own systems for following up with attendees. Jotting notes onto agendas and maintaining task list spreadsheets becomes a lot of work as the number of projects and team members increases.
Yet, meeting tasks and action items are what propel an organization forward. Thereâs simply no way to progress without making decisions and acting on them.
How can meeting leaders better manage meeting tasks and action items, ensuring critical next steps happen? What can they do during a meeting, before everyone parts ways, to keep the momentum going?
Meetings are an essential part of any organization. They allow teams to align make decisions and move projects forward. However, without proper follow through, meetings can often feel like a waste of time.
That’s where action items come in. Action items—also sometimes referred to as tasks or next steps—are clear assignments that are created during meetings. When used correctly, action items help translate discussion into measurable progress.
In this comprehensive guide we’ll cover everything you need to know about action items including
- What are action items and why are they important?
- Best practices for creating effective action items
- Tips for tracking and managing action items after meetings
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Tools and templates to help streamline the process
What Are Action Items?
Action items, quite simply, are tasks or assignments that are documented during meetings. They capture specific outcomes, next steps, and responsibilities that are agreed upon by the team.
Well-defined action items should explain:
- What needs to be done
- Who will do it
- By when it will be completed
Action items help translate talking into action. Rather than just discussing ideas and issues, action items create clear accountability and drive results.
Why Are Action Items Important?
There are several key reasons why consistently documenting action items is critical:
Translate Discussion Into Action
Without clear action items, meetings can sometimes feel unproductive. You discuss challenges, debate solutions, but don’t actually decide on next steps.
Action items create instant accountability. They take the great ideas discussed and clearly assign owners and timelines to drive implementation.
Create Alignment
Action items get every member of the team on the same page. Everyone leaves knowing exactly who is responsible for what by when.
This alignment ensures that tasks don’t slip through the cracks after the meeting ends.
Provide Tracking and Visibility
With action items, you have a paper trail you can reference later. You can easily follow up on the status of tasks and ensure they are completed on time.
This visibility helps spot potential delays early and course correct when needed.
Increase Accountability
When individuals are assigned specific action items, they are more likely to complete them.
No one wants to be called out for dropping the ball on their tasks during the next status update. Action items tap into our desire to save face and hold ourselves accountable.
Drive Results
Most importantly, consistent use of action items drives real results. Meetings become a platform for making progress on key goals and projects.
Teams that master action items get more done in less time. Status updates become a chance to celebrate wins rather than explain delays.
Best Practices for Creating Effective Action Items
To maximize the impact of your action items, follow these best practices:
Write Down All Action Items
Don’t just go over action items verbally during meetings. Always document them in writing.
Try to capture every task, owner, and due date agreed upon in the meeting minutes or a designated action item tracker.
The act of writing down the action item increases commitment and retention from the assigned owner.
Be As Specific As Possible
Vague, generalized action items are difficult to execute on and challenging to track.
Get granular with the details. Clearly explain the exact deliverable expected, not just a broad task.
- Bad example: Update the status report
- Good example: Update the Q3 status report with latest sales metrics by this Friday
Assign Owners
Don’t create orphaned action items that no one is responsible for completing. Make sure every task has a clearly defined owner.
This creates direct accountability and ensures the action item won’t slip through the cracks.
Set Due Dates
Tie every action item to a due date or specific timeframe to complete it. This creates a sense of urgency.
Due dates also make it easy to follow up and confirm tasks get done on schedule.
Prioritize Critical Action Items
Not all action items are created equal. Some may be mission critical while others are nice to have.
Mark high priority and time sensitive action items clearly so owners know which tasks demand their immediate focus.
This helps ensure critical path items don’t get lost in the shuffle.
Clarify Context
Don’t just log the action item. Provide any relevant background or context needed to successfully complete the task.
Give additional details on:
- Why it’s a priority
- How to approach the assignment
- What success looks like
The owner should have all info needed to hit the ground running after the meeting.
Confirm Understanding
Don’t move on until you get verbal confirmation from the assigned owner that the action item was clear and they understand what’s expected.
This quick confirmation helps catch any confusion and ensures they walk away committed to delivering on the task.
Tips for Tracking Action Items After Meetings
The real power of action items comes from following up consistently after meetings. Use these tips to drive execution:
Log All Action Items in One Place
Maintain one master action item tracker that compiles all open tasks in one place. Avoid scattered action items buried in separate meeting notes.
This provides full visibility into what needs to get done across projects and makes status updates easy.
Send Out Action Item Recaps
After each meeting, send a summary of the new action items to all attendees and assigned owners.
Don’t make people dig through extensive meeting minutes to find their tasks. Proactively push the info to the right folks.
Set Reminders Leading Up to Due Dates
Don’t let action items get lost in people’s busy schedules.
Set calendar reminders that provide friendly nudges as due dates approach:
- 24 hours before: Friendly reminder the deadline is approaching
- 2 hours after deadline: Check in on status if not yet complete
- 24 hours after deadline: Follow up again if no update provided
Review Status Each Week
Set aside 5 minutes every week to review the status of all open action items as a team.
Celebrate completed tasks. Ask for updates on remaining items. Offer help if owners are blocked.
This keeps action items top of mind and ensures forward progress.
Publicly Recognize Follow Through
When owners consistently deliver on assigned action items, recognize their follow through publicly.
Thank them by name in meetings and highlight their reliability. This motivates continued accountability.
Analyze Action Item Metrics
Look at completion rates over time, which owners consistently deliver, and who often misses deadlines.
Use these insights to provide additional support and drive improvement.
Common Action Item Mistakes to Avoid
While action items offer huge upside, they must be used carefully to realize their full potential. Watch out for these common missteps:
Creating Too Many Action Items
Don’t overwhelm your team with an unrealistic number of action items each meeting. Pare it down to the essential few tasks that will really move the needle.
Remember it’s quality over quantity. A few thoughtful, strategic action items are infinitely more valuable than a laundry list of tasks.
Assigning Action Items After the Fact
Don’t assign action items via email or chat after a meeting concludes. If the task is important enough to document, it should be discussed live as a team.
Assigning “offline” action items can create confusion and misalignment around expectations and context.
Letting Action Items Linger
Don’t allow action items to remain open indefinitely. This creates clutter and makes it impossible to discern what’s actually important.
If an action item has been lingering for weeks with no updates, it’s probably a sign it’s not actually critical. Don’t be afraid to purge stagnant tasks.
Accepting Vague Status Updates
When owners provide ambiguous status updates like “it’s in progress”, don’t just accept it at face value.
Dig deeper into specifics. What exactly has been done? What milestones remain? Is the due date still feasible?
Vague updates allow avoidance of real accountability. Don’t let it happen.
Failing to Celebrate Wins
Don’t just focus on the remaining tasks. Also take time to recognize and celebrate action items that have been successfully completed.
This positive reinforcement motivates owners and your team.
Helpful Tools and Templates
The right tools can streamline tracking and management of action items:
- Excel action item template: Simple template to log and track tasks.
- Trello: Flexible project management tool with action item workflows.
- Asana: Feature-rich PM software with multiple action item views.
- Meeting minutes template: Easy template that includes action item section.
- Google Docs action items template: Collaborative tracking in real-time.
Leverage technology to create efficiency around action items. But remember—tools are just enablers. Consistently using a defined process is what drives results.
Key Takeaways
Action items are one of the most important meeting outputs. When done right, they translate discussion into measurable actions that drive progress on goals.
Be clear on ownership, due dates, and priority. Track rigorously after
Assign a person and due date to every action item.
Weâve talked about this, but itâs important to do this before the meeting is over, so that participants understand their role moving forward.
An assignee may, of course, have help from other team members. However, an action item should be manageable for one responsible party.
The idea isnât to overload one person with a monumental meeting task for them to delegate to others. Instead, make action items simple enough for an individual to tackle with a little collaboration.
This collaborative enablement, as well as the autonomy encouraged by assigning individuals to action items in a meeting, is further discussed in our book, 10X Culture.
In it, we describe how Steve Jobs came up with the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) to solve problems with accountability at Apple. This DRI is the assigned person to a meeting task, and having one helps ensure that action items have clear leaders for efficient completion.
Heres an example of meeting notes where all action items have been assigned as concrete next steps:
Ensure action items are clear.
âAction items should be understood by everyone in the room, but most importantly by the person assigned to each one.
Often, understanding falls apart when a meeting leader fails to define the specific task. âDo inventory,â for example, could be misunderstood by someone new to the task or if inventory gets completed in different ways.
âTake inventory of all items on the floor and in storageâ is more specific. It may even be necessary to follow up with the task assignee directly after the meeting to make sure they know where to find inventory forms, any policies on how to count damaged inventory, and other details.
Define clear next steps and confirm that meeting attendees understand these steps.
Action items donât need to be complete SMART goals, but it doesnât hurt to take a page out of the effective goal-making handbook when it comes to making them. Make action items specific, measurable, and attainable to ensure success.
In your action items, answer questions likeâ¦
- âWhat specifically needs to be done to reach this goal?â
- âHow will we know weâve done it?â
- “Are the desired results reasonably achievable by someone in this meeting?â
A Simple Way to Track Action Items in a Meeting
How to write effective action items in meeting minutes?
In a successful meeting, it’s important to establish clear objectives, roles, and responsibilities. Effective meeting minutes should accurately capture what was discussed, decided upon, and what action items need to be taken to move forward. In this article, we’ll discuss how to write effective action items in meeting minutes, step-by-step.
What is a meeting action item?
A meeting action item is a task with clearly outlined details and an associated due date that is assigned to one or several of the meeting participants to complete. This action item is typically born from meeting minutes and meeting tasks that arise over the course of the discussion.
How do you manage action items in a meeting?
Ensure all action items are documented during meetings, and distribute the minutes, including these action items after the meeting to all participants. 7. Stay accountable Make sure the person responsible for the action item knows and acknowledges their task. Use reminders.
Why are action items important in meetings?
In conclusion, action items play a crucial role in effective meetings. They help to ensure that meetings are productive and efficient, and that decisions are implemented and followed through on. By creating clear and concise action items, attendees can focus on specific tasks and work towards achieving the overall goal.
