Task responsibilities within meetings
Task responsibilities relate to getting the work done. They involve the people who are going to take a project from start to finish. When we're involved in meetings where people will have to do something after the meeting, we want these people to participate. They know the work or they have a strong opinion about the job. Their insight is critical to the success of the project. There are four different task responsibilities:
Information giving responsibilities involve providing facts and information. They provide personal experience relevant to the task.
"I have some books about problem solving we can use."
"Bob told me about a blog that offers writing tips and resources."
The person in this role could be considered a subject matter expert (SME).
Opinion giving responsibilities include offering views or opinions concerning information, suggestions, or alternatives.
"This is good work but I think we can do better."
"Mary brings up an excellent point about shipping schedules."
Information seeking responsibilities consist of asking for information and details pertinent to the task as well as seeking clarification of suggestions in terms of their factual accuracy.
"Lisa, can you share with us what happened the last time the system encountered this glitch?"
"You've been with the company a long time. Have you ever seen this situation before?"
Opinion seeking responsibilities consist of asking for views or opinions concerning the task.
"Tom, what do you think about our idea?"
"I'd like to hear what the group thinks about this data."
Task responsibilities do not necessarily have to be assigned to individuals. Sometimes a person's job title might be an indicator of their responsibility. For example, if the vice president of operations comes to a department meeting, they might have an opinion-giving role. It wouldn't be unusual to hear, "This is good work but I think we can do better." Or the chief information officer attending a meeting in an information seeking role asking, "Lisa, can you share what happened the last time the system encountered this glitch?". When the person's job title isn't an immediate indicator, the individual's abilities could be. For instance, the person with an effective questioning ability might be a natural opinion seeker. And of course, it's always possible to assign responsibilities. For instance, the employee with a great questioning technique might be very quiet during meetings. The meeting chair can have a private conversation with the employee, convey how impressive the employee's questioning skills are, and ask them to take a lead role during meetings. This provides feedback to the employee about something they do well and shares how that skill can benefit the entire group.
