Is it good to ask for a meetting from a team lead?

Question

I am new to project management and I don't know much about how to act in certain situations. If I was expecting my team lead to call a meeting but he/she did not call and one day has already been passed. Now, I want to ask, whether it is good or bad to ask for meeting from my team lead?

I am very much obliged for valuable suggestions.

Answer 1

The most important aspect in any relationship is communication. Without honest and open communication, there will be difficulties in the relationship.

Have a conversation with the team lead. Learn about each others hopes and expectations regarding the work, the relationship, and the team. Work together to forge a working agreement to help foster a positive future.

Without a solid relationship built with effective communication, it is more likely that the time together will be difficult.

Answer 2

Definitely. I don't encourage meetings for the sake of meeting (as they might create waste), but if you discussed you should meet, by all means make the first step.

Just make sure that:

• You have a clear objective
• You have a clear agenda (and the objective above is stated)
• You invite only the people that would contribute to the agenda, with valuable input / decision making
• You complete the meeting with actionable steps (a meeting where people talk and no decision is taken, no action plan, no follow up, is useless)
• Last but not least you don't make it lengthy. Unless you need to discuss strategy, product, roadmaps, or other topics that might need more time, any meeting can be concluded in 40 minutes.

Open and honest communication is one of the main tools of any agile framework, so you should enforce it as much as possible.

Answer 3

Initiating a meeting with your team lead is considered to be a good omen. Just kidding ;)

As a Developer:

By accepting the pull-push technique, your life would be balanced. For example, pull the tasks assigned to you and start working, push the task status back to your assignor at the end of business including but not limited to your schedule, effort, and risks. This would keep you and your assignor (here, I believe it is your team leader) happy.

A weekly status meeting with your team leader to understand the overall project status would boost your motivation.

In short to answer your question, you do have liberty to ask for a meeting with a clear agenda in place. Otherwise, a status mail would suffice.

As a Manager (Project Manager, Program Manager, Product Manager):

In this case, you got to apply the management by walking around (MBWA) technique. This technique can be plugged into your daily routine, irrespective to any model you use.

The practice would be to drop by to your team leader's desk to enquire about the project(s). This will set the ball rolling. It is quite possible that the team leader is inhumed under ad hoc activities which might require your extensive help.

To answer your question, "yes" you could, but more than just asking for, I would go suggest to walk around and listen.