Category: Meetings

In the fast-paced world of business and corporate governance, a majority of organizations will often make use of individual members and stakeholders to assist with making high-level business-related decisions. 

Although not commonly found in smaller business organizations, a steering committee is typically composed of a group of informed advisors, which includes stakeholders and executives that helps to propose solutions on specific subject matters related to the business. 

Seeing as larger companies and multinational firms operate across several regions, and are made up of different levels of management, organizations tend to use a steering committee to help present practical solutions that can improve the overall business structure, operations, and consumer experience.

What Is a Steering Committee

There are several different explanations of what a steering committee is, but generally, this group of high-level advisors will represent the organization’s decision-making process to provide both guidance and advice on specific subject matters related to the business, its operations, and customer retention. 

There is also a facet of the steering committee that primarily focuses on improving financial matters, which generally consists of stakeholders and high-level financial executives. As part of the bigger picture, the steering committee will often ensure that the organization has a profound forward-looking strategy that can help them perform certain business tasks and meet shareholder obligations. 

Steering Committee Members

Seeing as a steering committee tends to govern an organization’s guidance structure, the members that make up the committee are often corporate executives, stakeholders, and authorities, which can either be internal or third-party. 

Steering Committee Roles and Responsibilities

Just as with any type of organizational structure and business model, the steering committee’s roles and responsibilities are spread across different levels, with each member or individual carrying out a specific responsibility directly associated with the broader performance of the business. 

Often, the steering committee will attend to a subject matter and divide the roles and responsibilities among appropriate members. To ensure relative solutions are provided, considering the subject matter, roles and responsibilities are divided according to some of the following:

• Provide insight into subject matters related to business structure and operation. 
• Consider financial, budgeting, and marketing procedures. 
• Execute a forward-looking strategy to help the organization reach project deliverables. 
• Monitoring changes, progress, and timeline risks. 
• Discussing potential adjustments and changes to help prioritize goals more effectively. 
• Considering consumer and business relationships. 
• Analyzing the completion and success of a project. 
• Helping to improve and encourage collaboration among project team members. 
• Providing clear insight into the outcomes of a project and changes associated with the larger organizational structure. 

With top-tier executive insight and guidance, different levels of the business structure can function and work effectively towards one specific agenda, ensuring that project deadlines are met in time, encouraging collaboration within the workplace, and helping to improve the relationship between the business and the consumer marketplace. 

Check Out Inside Look: Who Attends Steering Committee Meetings?:

Purpose of Steering Committee

Seeing as there is a lot to consider when combining several levels of expertise, it’s important to regard the overarching purpose of the steering committee and how their expertise will help improve business functions. 

Support the Project

One of the first facets the steering committee will help guide is helping to support the project, and in most instances, the project can range from brand and product development, customer experience improvement, or increasing market reach. 

Make decisions

A big part of what the committee will do is make executive-level decisions that will influence the entirety of the organization. These decisions can either be large-scale, such as making adjustments to the annual budget or deciding whether the company is in a position to increase its research and development for new services and products. 

Resolve Issues

Risk management also forms part of the guidance and advice received by the steering committee. Typically, issues related to the business will need to be reviewed and analyzed, and a decision based on best practices will then be implemented to help improve operations and narrow any future potential risks.

Project Budget

If a new project has been set, with an appropriate timeline, accompanying it will be a project budget that can help determine how much organizational funds can be directed towards the given project. Financial executives will monitor the progress of the project and determine whether a budget can be increased or lowered using due diligence. 

Encourage the Project Manager

Whoever might be overseeing the project, in this case, the project manager, they are often guided and encouraged by steering committee meeting members to ensure that mid-level employees stay on track with targets and operate within the appropriate budget.

Receive Status Updates

Not only do committee members advise on the project, but they will also need to receive status on whether a project is meeting its targets or if changes have taken place, and how much of it has affected the outcomes. 

It’s important for steering committee individuals to be involved in the progress tracking and review status updates regularly to help them understand how forward-looking guidance and decisions will impact the project before, during, or after completion.

Monitoring Risks

Any predetermined risks will be monitored by the appropriate board members to help ensure that in case of any error, or headwinds, a well-detailed plan of action can be executed. 

Monitoring Timeline

Projects are completed within a determined time frame, and it will be up to project manager to encourage mid-level employees to fulfill their duties in a timely manner to keep operations and project completion up to date. 

Monitoring Quality

Once the project has reached the end goal, quality control and assurance will first need to be monitored by the steering committee which will then advise on whether any changes need to be made to help improve the delivery of quality of the product or service. 

Check Out What Is a Steering Committee [Purpose and Roles Explained]:

Types of Steering Committees

Corporate governance will oversee different levels of the organization, as it’s often harder to monitor and control all levels of business through a singular committee. 

Project Steering Committees

Projects that have been designed to help give a business edge over marketplace competitors will often be guided and monitored by a project steering committee. This group of individuals typically ensures that any new projects undertaken by the company can be completed within a given budget and timeline. 

More so, the project steering committee helps to see whether new projects can help build the consumer and business relationship, while at the same time improving the entire customer experience and value perception of the business. 

Portfolio Steering Committees

As another high-level governance body of the organization, the portfolio steering committees will monitor the quality of the project, help to resolve conflict, oversee any potential risks and provide solutions, and analyze any policies that will indefinitely help improve the project management procedure. 

It’s good to know that a portfolio steering committee is not to be confused with a project management office, as companies will often have different group leaders working across several levels of the business. 

Steering Committee vs Advisory Committee

One of the main differences between a steering and advisory board is who appoints the members to the committee. For starters, members on the advisory committee will often be appointed by a director of the company, while steering committee members are selected by a research office and assists the director on decisions related to the company or any projects. 

The board members on the steering committee will reflect the image and vision of the company in the long term, while the advisory board seeks to engage more frequently with the general public and reflect broader organizational diversity. 

How to Run a Steering Committee Meeting

Every committee meeting will look different depending on the given project or subject matter that is to be resolved. 

For the steering committee meeting to be successful, it’s important to ensure that the outcomes of the project are met within due diligence. Secondly, the right committee members need to be assigned and appointed to the board to help provide appropriate guidance. Next is to ensure that there are clear rules and goals and that every member of the board understands what the outcomes of the project should be. 

There should also be time allocated for regular interval meetings that can help provide status updates on the project. Regular meetings should be held between project managers and committee members to help prioritize debriefing efforts.

Additionally, every meeting should have a clear purpose to help the committee understand the issues they are addressing and how they will go about resolving any of these problems within the appropriate good practices of the company. 

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Larger companies and multinational firms that operate across several regions and have multi-layered management levels often require overarching guidance. This is provided by the steering committee, a group of individuals that helps to make high-level decisions based on the subject matter to ensure company goals and business objectives are achieved within due diligence. 

Every planning meeting within a corporate business should have a goal and a focus point. Whether the goal is to identify problems, raise awareness, launch a product, or find critical solutions to reassuring problems. Each type of meeting will have a set reason for being scheduled.

Many have questions: What is the goal of the what-meeting?” The main aim for the what section of the meeting is to identify every individual’s tasks and objectives for the day. These meetings usually aim to identify the entire team’s tasks, which will then be divided into individual key outcomes and tasks.

Identifying what to do is of utmost importance. It will keep the entire team on track and prevent team members from confusion or lack of words due to needing to know what tasks to complete. A what-meeting is part of a more extensive scrum meeting. The aim is to use this meeting daily for big sprints or projects.

What are Sprint Meetings?

Companies and teams have used the scrum methodology for a long time. The idea behind scrum is to provide the entire team with a common goal or objective that must be completed within a specific time frame. This can be as long as a month or as short as a week.

Companies use scrums to encourage and motivate their staff to work hard on a task or project for some time. The project will be broken into smaller intervals. These intervals can be as long as two weeks. The interval is well-known as a sprint.

A sprint aims not to finish the entire project but to create a project, product, or system that works well enough to function as each sprint combines to create the best and most functional product or result at the end of the entire sprint. Sprints motivate the team to work hard and quickly on a project.

The basis of this methodology is that the team will use small and directional steps to create and move closer to the ultimate goal of the entire project. This is an excellent tool for a team with a common goal.

What are What-meetings?

What meetings fall into the daily scrum meetings that motivate the team to complete specific parts or tasks for the day? The What meeting will allow the team leader to state what tasks and objectives must be met for the day. The sessions allow the team to be up to date and ready to complete the simple or complex tasks set for the sprint.

Benefits

The meeting has many benefits within the scrum or sprint meeting. The meeting will keep the entire team up to date with the tasks for the day and the project process as a whole. The team will know exactly where they stand, what to do, and where to go.

Team members can ask questions and state problems or inquiries at the meeting. This can be based on the problems or issues they face in their tasks and product creations. Or queries to clarify and identify the project managers’ needs and requests.

The What meeting is well known for increasing productivity. The reason is that staff members will save Time finding work or tasks to complete. They will go straight to their office or desks and start the project or tasks immediately.

How to Use

The meeting should be the first part of the morning work routine. The What-meeting will be included in the main meeting as a scrum meeting will be scheduled once a day or weekly.

The section allowing the team leader to share the team goals and tasks for the day should be at the start of the day and most 15 minutes. The aim is to keep this short and direct, allowing every employee to identify what to do for the next sprint.

However, the 15-minute time-boxed meeting can be extended for some meetings if there are a lot of questions or uncertainty. Virtual teams and online meetings can extend the Time if the team struggles to log in or connect to the forum.

What Is The Goal of A What-Meeting?

The goal of the meeting is to provide the entire team with the tasks and objectives they must complete within the sprint. The conference will clearly state what the team must finish within the next few days—leaving the employees motivated, focused, and knowing what to accomplish.

Many team leaders will not use the meeting structure to boost employee productivity. The aim, however, should not be solely on productivity but on motivation and direction. The team will clearly understand what to do and why they need to do it.

How Important Is Setting Goals For A What-Meeting?

This format is crucial when considering a scrum and sprint structure to complete projects within a deadline. The format will give the team direction and guidance on what to do. The members can use the meeting to ask specific questions to the leader, which will then provide the team with guidance.

The main idea here is to pick a venue just a short distance from the actual desks and offices of the employees. Motivated employees must use a few steps to get to the task, which they will jump into to finish before the end of the sprint.

Check Out Setting Goals:

What Happens If Goals Are Not Achieved?

There will be set goals and objectives for every meeting. Once the meeting is completed and the employees leave to continue their work, the leaders must evaluate the success of the meeting.

A steering team will be called to address why the meetings have been deemed unsuccessful. The steering team will then provide the manager or team leader with valuable insight into fixing the problem of not achieving the goals.

The problems can be due to the need for more direction, motivation, and productivity or something as simple as restructuring the entire meeting to meet the needs of the staff. The focus should be to fix the problem as soon as possible to ensure that all future sprint goals are achieved at a high rate.

Tips To Reach Your What-meeting Objectives & Goals

An event planner will significantly benefit companies when planning a What-meeting. These individuals have the experience and the tips to enhance the success rate and create clear objectives that will leave the entire team motivated and ready to achieve what is needed.

Share the Goals of the Meeting

It is one thing for the leadership to identify and follow goals, but the success rate of these goals will have an exponential impact once the entire team knows these goals. The team will have the motivation to assist the managers in achieving the team’s goals and objectives required by the company leaders.

By sharing the goals, the team members can align their own goals and tasks with the company goal to ensure that they pursue the actual purposes that the company deems needed. A meeting agenda can be sent to all the attendees to ensure they understand the constant topic of discussion within the meeting. The agenda items will give the team time to develop ideas, leading to a productive meeting.  

Ensure Realistic Goals

There are many ways to set goals for an entire team. The aim, however, should be to uplift and enrich the team with achievable goals. The team will be motivated and gain productivity if the goals are realistic. Realistic goal setting will leave the team motivated and ready to work harder to achieve more.

Setting effective meeting goals to ensure that the team focuses on the product goals and each individual’s active role is of utmost importance. The team level will increase, and the entire team will have the outcome in mind. 

Be mindful of the Time.

Employees will spend much time working and pursuing the measurable goals and tasks placed before them. Long meetings and boring interactions will decrease their ability to work hard and be productive. Thus, keeping the meetings short and heading straight to the point will significantly benefit the entire team.

Team leaders can use a timer to ensure the high-performing team can share what is important and find the necessary information before returning to work. The What-meeting should be 30 minutes and aim to be done within 15 minutes of starting.

Make sure actionable steps are set.

Employees love to work in an environment with set steps and an action plan. Leaders must provide the entire team and every employee with actionable steps that they can take to complete tasks and, ultimately, the entire project. Actionable steps will ensure employees find Time to achieve the following functions or objectives.

The team of people’s success depends on sharing ideas and the hard work of every individual. Actionable steps will keep the organization on track and ensure the team reaches its target. 

Measure Your Progress

It is easy to forget the hard work an entire team has produced to complete a project or achieve the tasks at hand. Companies and team leaders can use a board or another method to display the marketing team’s progress up to this point.

The progress will allow the team to feel appreciated. Every individual will see their hard work having an impact on the entirety of the project, leaving them feeling positive and motivated. The progress display will give the team a visual representation of how the project moves closer to the goal.

Schedule Follow-ups

Follow-up meetings are one of the most overlooked tasks that company leaders use. A follow-up will allow the team leaders to communicate individually with every project member. The follow-up meeting will allow the leaders to identify the needs of the staff members as well as to evaluate their goals, direction, and motivation within the project.

Get Feedback from Participants

Post-meeting and project feedback are among the most excellent tools companies can use to obtain information and reviews from employees and project managers. A post-meeting evaluation will produce the experience and feelings that employees and attendees had during the effective meeting and the project.

The feedback exchange will improve future meetings, leaving the employees satisfied and happy. The regular feedback will produce some positives that companies must keep within the regular meeting. The positive aspects of the meeting can be the building blocks as they fix all the negative feedback provided.

What-Meeting with Conference Source

Conference Source is an event management company that can plan, organize and run an entire event for any company. The team has a wide range of experience and will be able to create any event the company desires.

A what-meeting is one of the Conference Sources’ main focus points. This meeting will allow companies to communicate clear and direct goals and guidelines for a set project. The team will have a leader present within the meeting to ensure that the meeting follows the layout and the set plans.

Conference Source has tips and tricks to create a What meeting in no time. These tips and tricks will be shared with the company allowing them to create and build their What-meetings in the future.

FAQs

Conclusion

Core scrum meetings are an essential part of meetings within a well-established company. The platform will allow the team to identify critical aspects of a project. The team will have a short period to work hard on the team meeting goals, which must be completed within the deadlines.

These meetings let the employees know their tasks and responsibilities for the entire sprint, leaving them motivated and working in a set direction for the whole project. Companies should capitalize on the What-meeting as it produces high productivity and motivation among project members.

Corporate governance is often a complex system that functions based on organizational structure and typically includes several levels of management that help to oversee the development and completion of projects. 

In the high-paced corporate world, steering committees are often a group of executives or top-level management that helps to oversee the start and completion of projects. These individuals will guide and motivate project managers, and their teams through difficult processes, providing insight, while also creating vision and direction for the overall company. 

Steering committees may often exist solely for the basis of project management or helping to develop new products and services for the company, which they can present in the broader marketplace. Although these committees make executive decisions behind the scenes, they often play a vital role in the direction where the company is growing towards. 

What Does a Steering Committee Do

Not all steering committees will consist of the same type of management or executives, but in most instances, these individuals will either be directly tied to the company or have some form of affiliation. 

Often these steering committees are formed entirely by the personnel or staff of a company but can also consist of more top-level management, such as executives, or shareholders. These individuals represent the company, its key operations, research and development, and above all, the growth of the company. 

Steering committees help to develop and implement a new project scope, which can include products or even services offered by the company. On this basis, the steering committee will then help to deliver insight and guidance for project managers which will then filter through to middle and junior-level employees. 

Steering Committee Examples

Though steering committee members will often collaborate on project scope, examples of these groups include individuals with a high level of insight and knowledge related to a certain industry or sector and help provide guidance based on company and project goals. 

On top of this, these committees assign delicate project-specific tasks, to help monitor risk, and ensure the quality of the completed work. In most cases, a steering committee will have a predetermined timeline or date of completion for certain projects and will monitor the progress as the project develops. 

If a project falls behind schedule or is over budget, the steering committee will then make executive decisions to help reschedule competition or lower expenditures.

Steering Committee Roles and Responsibilities

Seeing as these committees can consist of an array of individuals, each person will hold a different level of responsibility and will lead a certain role within their respective capacity. 

Although these roles and responsibilities may not look similar from the outside, when digging inward, we see that there are some similarities and that the committee will share the same roles to help advance the progress of a project. 

What Is the Role of a Steering Committee

Project Support

As already mentioned, a big part of what the steering committee does is to provide project support, either through the aid of a project manager or direct communication with employees working on the project. 

Project support is crucial, and without it, project development will be elongated or often go uncompleted. With the help of a steering committee, both teams and project leaders may have untapped access to a wealth of knowledge and information related to the industry, the work they’re doing, and the target audience. 

Decision Making

A hard task for some project leaders who are working in a fast-paced environment, decision-making is often an important secondary element of what a steering committee does. 

Instead of leaving crucial decisions to mid and junior-level staffers, a steering committee will make decisions based on available information and projected forward-looking guidance. 

These decisions will include any risks they may encounter and will help monitor a project’s progress. 

Resolve issues

Problems are a given when starting a new project, and on a corporate level, these issues may be more challenging and complex to resolve without proper insight. Having a steering committee as part of corporate governance enables the organization and any other staff involved in the project to function without experiencing delays in the project timeline. 

Project Budget

Projects that run over budget may sometimes be seen as less successful, as it means that resources have been over or underutilized. Having expert individuals plan and implement a project budget allows project manager to know exactly how to allocate resources and where more focus needs to be given to ensure development and completion meet organizational quality. 

Receive status updates

As a project, which may either be a product or service, enters the consumer marketplace, the steering committee will monitor client reaction and provide analytical status updates on whether a project has been received positively or with some remorse. There are many instances where a product or service is not up to the standard of the committee, which will then lead to employees having to change and update any of the previous work they have completed. 

Project manager Encouragement

Another important role and responsibility are to help encourage project leaders. Often these individuals will help to lead a team of employees that work on several tasks at once. Ensuring that a project manager is motivated, informed, and well-encouraged will help to boost marketplace acceptance and quality assurance. 

Check Out What Is a Steering Committee [Purpose and Roles Explained]:

How to Run a Steering Committee Meeting

Each company will run a steering committee meeting differently, but although these differences exist, there is still a certain industry standard that is typically followed by many organizations. 

• Plan and implement an agenda: Usually, an agenda will help guide the meeting and cover the most important points of the meeting. 
• Cover the most important elements: Making sure that meetings are not entirely useless means that steering committee meetings will only cover the most important aspects of the project. 
• Have a recap session: A recap session helps to ensure that all members or individuals are informed and know exactly what the meeting was about. 
• Keep communication between parties: Once the meeting has adjourned, all members, including shareholders and project managers, will need to be properly informed about the outcomes of the meeting. 

How Often Should the Committee Meet?

Depending on the length of the project, which can be anything from a few weeks to several months to more than a year, a steering committee meeting can be held quarterly, or every other week, depending on how much time there is planned for the project team. 

Preparing Your Next Steering Committee Meeting

When preparing for your next steering committee meeting, make sure that all members are well-informed about the core elements of the meeting and what will be covered throughout. Secondly, taking notes and sending a recap email once the meeting has been completed is important. Additionally, all members and individuals included in the meeting must come prepared with questions or answers, depending on why the meeting is being held. 

Steering Committee vs Board of Directors

Steering committee members are usually individuals who are industry experts and leaders in their field who are appointed to assist and guide a project team. While the board of directors consists of people who actively participated in starting and creating the business. 

Steering Committee vs Advisory Committee

Members of an advisory committee will typically be appointed by the director of the company, while members of a steering committee are selected by several individuals, including staff and executives. Depending on the size of the company, a research office will usually select steering members to help the director make decisions related to company and project needs.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Although not many people will often encounter the work done by steering committees, these individuals play a crucial role in the success and progress of projects that often impact the organization. These committees drive insight and are industry leaders that help develop actionable plans to ensure growth and further development of project management, employees, and the company. 

In the fast-paced world of business, steering committee meetings play a crucial role in the forward-looking strategy and performance of a company or organization. In the modern and globalized economy, companies now have wider access to a diverse market and range of consumers.

Any steering committee consists of advisory bodies and executives that combine their expertise to provide a forward-guiding strategy on different business-related issues that the company or organization might come face-to-face with. 

These individuals can be owners, executives, stakeholders, and managers, that offer insight into different challenges such as budgets, company policies, different marketing techniques, and a broad range of project management concerns. This is where the purpose of the steering committee meeting becomes essential to help businesses navigate any treacherous conditions. 

What Is The Definition of a Steering Committee?

While those involved in the steering committees will often differ depending on the company, the definition thereof will often remain the same across the business world. 

For starters, a steering committee on an organizational level will consist of executives and stakeholders that facilitate important communication and decision-making efforts between different departments. These committees will oversee important facets of the business such as the budget, marketing, research and development, and project management. 

Then there are steering committees that function on a departmental level, which usually include smaller teams or groups of employees, led by a manager or team leader. These groups will then assist with the selection of different projects, their impact or influence, and further control of how these projects will help improve the forward-looking strategy of the business. 

Who Are In A Steering Committee?

Those included in a steering committee are typically high-level advisors, stakeholders, and industry experts on different business-related subject matters. 

Each of these individuals will use their expertise and knowledge to help formulate a plan and strategy that can help organizational workflow across different departments. Additionally, these members will not often be directly involved with the progress of a project but rather facilitate and oversee development. 

For public companies that are publicly traded, steering committee members will include several or all stakeholders of the company. In some instances, companies will invite members of the public to form part of the steering committee, depending on the specifications or projected outcomes of the designated strategy. 

Across the steering committee, members are expected to provide insight to the company, and managers on different subject matters while at the same time monitoring the progress of the company or any specific projects. 

What Are The Roles of the Steering Committee?

While steering committees are a crucial component of any organization and project, it’s important to consider that not every steering committee looks exactly the same, and the roles will be different depending on company or project needs. 

Seeing that the steering committee will consist of different members, some with a financial background, while others have more human resources expertise, individuals will deliver insight as required. 

If the goal is to lower business-related expenses and improve cash flow, or boost revenue, financial advisors will develop a well-detailed plan that can include several key points to help the business achieve these financial goals. 

Human resource experts will again see how these key points will impact the broader business dynamic, and in the event of unforeseen layoffs, develop a strategy of forgoing workers or a shift in roles and responsibilities of employees. 

On an organizational level, advisors, stakeholders, and executives will provide insight on subject matters related to the company or project, and will facilitate different organizational strategies for specific departments. 

One could say that the primary role of the steering committee as a unified group is to advise on organization, financial, and business matters. These specifications will ensure that managers and employees can achieve business objectives, while at the same time operating different projects. 

Although not every project will look the same, the roles are often intertwined with one another, and every person on the steering committee plays a vital role in the bigger development and progress of any given project, regardless of their expertise. 

Why Do Projects Need Steering Committee?

Companies will often require assistance and guidance on specific subject matters to help each project achieve its goals within a given period. This not only ensures that the project is successful but that it can be delivered at an acceptable time, and within budget. 

Depending on the size and scale of each project, steering committees play a vital role in developing plans, goals, and objectives for the project. On top of this, it’s possible that steering committee members can help to identify risks and accordingly address these matters. 

Some projects may require strategic oversight, and team leaders will need to make important decisions regarding the project. Through a steering committee, managers will have more insight and guidance to make the proper changes that will not affect the delivery time or budget. 

Finally, the steering committees can help oversee the development and assess how the project has advanced. In case of slow performance, the steering committee can then readjust their objectives and goals, allocate the necessary resources, and ensure they are properly used. 

What Happens In A Steering Committee Meeting?

Every steering committee meeting will be run differently, depending on the project, but in essence in these meetings, advisors, stakeholders, and industry experts will develop project initiatives that can help achieve a specific end goal. 

During the meeting, individuals will discuss key points that need to be resolved and consider a forward-looking guiding strategy that can assess different risk factors and overall project management. 

Typically a project manager, considered the committee chair, will provide a project and an agenda that committee members will follow. Individuals will make recommendations based on project goals and objectives during these meetings. Once the committee has delivered key points, all members must agree on the recommendations, which will then be implemented accordingly. 

Check Out Make Your Steering Committee Meetings Productive:

What Is Most Important For The Steering Committee To Have?

A steering committee’s most important components should include strong leadership and guidance, a set of clear objectives, and a range of defined policies and procedures. 

Seeing as the committee consists of different industry advisors, each committee should have a chair, or project managers that can lead meetings and oversee the project management aspects. If these elements are correctly combined, the steering committees can act as a governing body that will help boost the business’s productivity, performance, and efficiency. 

These and other organizational components will ensure every steering committee meeting succeeds and achieves project goals. 

Preparing For The Steering Committee Meeting

It’s imperative that the right people are selected to form the steering committee and that guiding policies will help each member understand their roles and responsibilities. On the back of this, it’s also crucial to have good time management and set specific parameters for decision-making. 

Preparing for the steering committee meeting would entail having a well-detailed presentation that can be delivered to members to give them a better feel of what the project’s outcomes aim to achieve and how this will be managed. 

Additionally, it’s important to include time for participants to ask any questions and that there is enough allocated time to run through some of the queries. Members should discuss any subject-related matters, identify any risks, assess these factors, and establish possible solutions. 

Once the meeting has concluded, members should be informed about any follow-up meetings and who will be responsible for different facets of the project as it progresses. 

Do’s & Don’ts

To make sure a committee meeting is successful each time, here are some do’s and don’ts to follow: 

Do: 

• Select the right participants for the project. 
• Establish roles, responsibilities, and policies beforehand. 
• Communicate project goals and objectives with members. 
• Allow members to deliver insight on any possible risk factors. 
• Have regular project updates and keep members informed. 
• Give feedback to managers, and advisors. 

Do not: 

• Ignore important considerations and key project points. 
• Ignore the importance of taking notes and giving feedback after every meeting. 
• Don’t divert from conversation topics, and try to remain within time. 
• If sudden adjustments or changes are being made, communicate this with committee members. 
• Do not forget to follow up with teams, and provide guidance. 

Steering Committee Charter Template

The project steering committee charter should include the following: 

• Project Overview
• Function and role of the steering committee
• Steering committee member and chair 
• Individual membership roles and responsibilities 
• Agenda and minutes 
• Proxies to meetings 
• Goals, objectives, and decision-making 
• Governance protocols including strategic and operations 
• Steering committee agreements
• Appropriate appendices

Check Out This Steering Committee Template:

Steering Committee vs Advisory Committee: What’s The Difference

Steering Committees 

Individual advisors are appointed by a project manager or chair, to ensure members will deliver key insight and guidance related to the project. The steering committee will directly influence strategic planning and management of project operations. More so, these committees will assess possible risks, provide solutions, and develop new proposals for projects. These members are typically industry experts and will develop a timeline and project steering committee plan that aligns with the company’s vision, mission, and forward-going objectives. 

Advisory Committees

While similar to a steering committee, the advisory committee will typically consist of members directly associated with the company or project and will develop strategic feedback or advise the chair of the steering committee. These members will oversee project goals, and ensure they remain aligned with company objectives. Typically, advisors will take an external view of both the company and the project to ensure that it reflects the true nature of the company and associates. 

FAQs

Final Thoughts

A steering committee will help deliver achievable goals and objectives for a project to help further develop company interests and marketplace authority. These committees play a vital role in the forward-looking strategy of any project, and ensure broader success, implementation, and project governance.