>But I started noticing some people were looking at the meeting notes as if I was holding a gun at their heads for what they said during the meetings.
My experience (as technical resource/lead and project manager) has been to make sure that meeting notes include all agenda items and the action items associated with them.
However, I always make explicit that this is my understanding and request feedback from all participants as to the accuracy, schedule and scope of action items.
I suppose that comes from long experience where you're given responsibility for ensuring the success of an effort/project but not given the concomitant authority to compel action.
That requires consensus building and buy in from all stakeholders.
Often, that's not an issue when the entire organization is focused on a singular product/service. But in large organizations, building consensus among the stakeholders is absolutely necessary for success.
In smaller organizations this is less of an issue, as someone with authority over all aspects of cross-functional efforts is likely directly involved.
As such, the metaphorical "this is going to be done. Do it now." coming from a person who can directly affect your compensation and continued employment is extremely effective.
That's not so in large organizations where authority is more broadly distributed.
It occurs to me that differences in the size and structure of an organization can have significant impact on how such processes evolve and either thrive or die.
My experience (as technical resource/lead and project manager) has been to make sure that meeting notes include all agenda items and the action items associated with them.
However, I always make explicit that this is my understanding and request feedback from all participants as to the accuracy, schedule and scope of action items.
I suppose that comes from long experience where you're given responsibility for ensuring the success of an effort/project but not given the concomitant authority to compel action.
That requires consensus building and buy in from all stakeholders.
Often, that's not an issue when the entire organization is focused on a singular product/service. But in large organizations, building consensus among the stakeholders is absolutely necessary for success.
In smaller organizations this is less of an issue, as someone with authority over all aspects of cross-functional efforts is likely directly involved.
As such, the metaphorical "this is going to be done. Do it now." coming from a person who can directly affect your compensation and continued employment is extremely effective.
That's not so in large organizations where authority is more broadly distributed.
It occurs to me that differences in the size and structure of an organization can have significant impact on how such processes evolve and either thrive or die.