Weekly check-ins between PMs that are assigned leadership responsibilities at their partner school should include a focus on topics relevant to that work stream. The is Site Lead Add-on is designed to ensure time and space is dedicated to this discussion. It is recommended that the content of this add-on be copied and pasted above the baseline check-in document. Additionally, the amount or specificity of information managers require PMs to report each week (for their own pairs) may also need to be changed to accommodate a people management discussion.
In the rush of program delivery, it can be easy to talk about pair engagement and support statistics and forget to take time to step back to use the weekly check-in space as a professional development opportunity as it relates to school partner stewardship and relationship maintenance. This add-on is meant to be placed into the weekly check-in document in a effort to make sure PMs and their managers do so.
Sections of the Add-on
The Site Lead Add-On is split into sections that PMs fill out prior to submitting it to their manager as the agenda for the meeting . Each section is outlined below, including tips for PMs to complete the document (use the links to skip through the sections).
Most Recent Site Lead Meeting Debrief
Looking Ahead to Next Site Lead Meeting
Most Recent Site Lead Meeting Debrief
This section includes prompts for PMs to enter details regarding questions/concerns/successes raised by the partner during the previous meeting as well as updates on any action items. PMs are also asked to list the top three priorities for the partnership. Finally, when relevant, this section includes space for PMs to share a draft agenda for the next partnership meeting so they can receive feedback and input from their manager.
Looking Ahead to Next Site Lead Meeting
While the prior section asks the PM to reflect on the previous meeting and plan for the next meeting, this section includes prompts for the PM to share information and updates regarding upcoming meetings. This section, if leveraged proactively, can be used for PMs to discuss needs for support and/or resources.
The final section of this add-on provides prompts for PMs to reflect on the partnership at a high-level and consider bigger picture questions. PMs should pay special attention to protecting space to thoughtfully complete this section of the add-on. Just as it is easy to get stuck in the minutia of pair engagement data during the management check-in and miss the opportunity to discuss how to increase impact, the same holds true for partnership discussions.
