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You can find an introduction to Community of Practice Meetings in Chapter 32 of Where the Action Is. These resources will help you plan, run, and troubleshoot the specific Community of Practice Meetings your team needs.

Definition

A Community of Practice Meeting is used by people with a shared interest in a topic for networking, learning, and mutual support.

Questions Answered

  • What can we teach each other that may help us improve our individual practice in this area?
  • How can we advance this topic together?

Examples

  • Monthly Safety Committee Meeting
  • Project Manager’s Meetup
  • Lunch-and-Learn (sometimes called a “Brown Bag,”“Town Hall,” or whatever your organization uses)

Purpose

  • Topic-focused exchange of ideas./li>
  • Organizational and individual capability development.
  • Relationship development.

Work Outcomes

  • Focused attention in an area that doesn’t warrant a dedicated team.
  • Organizational capability development: more skilled people.

Human Outcomes

  • New knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
  • Improved ability to perform the job.
  • Recognition.
  • A feeling of belonging.
  • Larger networks.

Meeting Agenda Templates and Guides

Latte and Learn

Pilar Orti - This is a meeting agenda template for "Latte and Learn." Latte and Learn sessions help team members to learn together by reflecting on a recent experience as they share it with others. It is also an informal way of spreading knowledge through a team and nurturing creativity, as team members discuss topics outside... [ more ]

Lucid Blog Posts

The Real-Time Agenda Technique

Elise Keith (2018). A real-time agenda is a process for co-creating, prioritizing and discussing a list of topics in real time.

Words to Know: Related Glossary Terms

Technique

Lean Coffee
LEAN Coffee is one way to build an agenda on the fly. Groups using this structured meeting technique brainstorm then decide the topics to be discussed at the start of the meeting. This meeting technique works for...
PALPaR
PALPaR is a technique used by presenters to create an effective exchange in response to a proposal. The name of the technique is an acronym for: Present Ask Listent Pause and Reply To...
Real-Time Agenda Technique
The real-time agenda is a process for co-creating, prioritizing and discussing a list of topics in real time. A real-time agenda isn’t a type of meeting. It’s a technique that you can use in many different types of...

Meeting Type

Walking Meeting
A walking meeting is exactly what it sounds like; a meeting conducted while walking. Proponents of walking meetings say walking meetings lead to more natural conversations and enhanced creativity. They cite research...