How do you handle action items that are delayed, incomplete, or irrelevant?

1 Set clear expectations

One of the best ways to prevent action items from being delayed, incomplete, or irrelevant is to set clear expectations at the end of each meeting. Make sure that each action item has a specific owner, deadline, and deliverable, and that everyone agrees on them. You can use a simple template or tool to capture and track action items, and share them with all the meeting participants and stakeholders. This way, you can avoid ambiguity, miscommunication, and procrastination.

2 Follow up regularly

Another key to handling action items successfully is to follow up regularly with the owners and check their progress and status. You can use email, chat, or a project management system to communicate and monitor action items, and provide feedback, support, or reminders as needed. You can also schedule a brief check-in meeting or call with the owners to discuss any challenges, risks, or changes that might affect the action items. This way, you can keep everyone on track, motivated, and accountable.

3 Address issues promptly

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, action items can still be delayed, incomplete, or irrelevant due to various factors such as changing priorities, resource constraints, or unforeseen circumstances. As a meeting leader, it is important to address these issues promptly and decisively. Begin by asking the owners to explain the reasons for the delay, incompleteness, or irrelevance of the action items and listen to their perspectives and concerns. Then evaluate the impact and urgency of the action items and decide whether to extend the deadline, modify the deliverable, or cancel the action item altogether. After making your decision, communicate it and the rationale to all meeting participants and stakeholders, updating the action item list accordingly. Lastly, provide feedback, recognition, or coaching to the owners based on their performance.

4 Review and learn

Finally, as a meeting leader, it is important to review and learn from the action items that were delayed, incomplete, or irrelevant. To do this, you should conduct a post-mortem or retrospective meeting or survey with the meeting participants and stakeholders to gain feedback and insights. Additionally, analyzing the data and trends from the action item list and tracking system can help identify any potential patterns, gaps, or opportunities for improvement. Implementing changes or recommendations that emerge from this review process can help ensure future action items and meetings are productive, aligned, and accountable.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?