Close the Conversation...Move to Action

“So are you going to do that?”

The question came as somewhat of a shock to me.  I was new on the team.  It was my first real job.   This was one of my first meetings.  Up to this point I made observations and stayed quiet because I didn’t have the history with the organization that my co-workers had.  On this particular day, I had listened to the conversation roll on about a process within our organization.  When the moment came, I injected an observation and possible solution to the discussion.

Almost immediately the response came back to me… “So are you going to do that?”

It came from my point leader.  He was not being cute or sarcastic. He sincerely wanted to know if I intended to back up my words with action and execution.  On that day I learned a valuable lesson.  Close the conversation… move to action. 

Far too often teams talk about an issue from all perspectives without creating a game plan.  The topic becomes an ongoing string of conversations in which little to no action takes place.  This is because the conversation is wide open on a particular problem and it never gets closed.  While some issues require time, wisdom, and discussion many issues are long over-due for action.

Here are two helpful questions that are essential in closing the conversation and moving toward action…

Who is going to do it?  Every solution involves a “who”.  This is actually more important than what has to happen.  Without the right person doing the right job, you will fail to actually execute the solution your team created.  This is the person that will be accountable to solving the problem.

When is it going to happen?  If you don’t put the “who” on a timeline, expectations are often unmet.  Unmet expectations foster disappointment and frustration.  Establishing when the solution should be in place helps the whole team communicate clearly about expectations.

Productive teams know how to close the circle on crucial conversations.  After the problem has been raised, ideas have been floated, and possible solutions discussed it is time to close the conversation and move to action.