Meetings have a bad reputation. It's unfair, really. It's
not the meeting's fault. It could be good, if only people
would let it.
While heavy-duty or especially difficult meetings require
more than a few little tools to be effective, you can
vastly improve the outcome of a routine meeting simply by
using a mere five of my favorite tools. Talk about
traveling light!
1. Invite the right people. It sounds simple enough, but
too often I see topics covered with a full group that only
apply to a sub-set of the group, on the excuse that, "this
is the only time we have them together." Likewise, if you
can't make a decision without Ms. X or Mr. Y, who will not
be in attendance, you have to seriously question why you're
having the meeting. You're not alone if you've done this.
I've been guilty of this sin myself.
2. Start with a clear objective for the meeting. And, by
the way, don't keep it to yourself! Send it to everyone.
Will you be making decisions? Getting input? Sharing
feedback? Particularly with routine meetings, it's tempting
to hold the meeting because it's what we do, or because you
think it provides some sort of bonding, but what are you
really trying to accomplish? People don't actually bond
very much in unproductive meetings that lack clear
objectives.
3. Set up a successful agenda in advance. Okay, for some
leaders setting an agenda at all would be progress! You
know who you are. :)
As you build the agenda, get real about how long it will
take to address each topic. You can't treat a complex issue
like ongoing poor product quality the same way you treat a
status report on a successful project. Yet, how often do we
find ourselves in a meeting in which these two topics have
roughly the same allocation of time? As a guideline, assume
that if the goal is to make a decision, it will take four
times longer than if the goal is to simply provide a status
report. If you know darn well that the status report will
actually stimulate a provocative discussion but no decision
is expected to be made, allow twice the time as for a more
routine status report.
For what it's worth, eliminate all status reports, if
possible. If it's really just a status report, with no
discussion needed, email should do the trick.
4. Visually track problem-solving and decision-making
discussions. If it's a virtual meeting, use a shared
document to track the discussion, such as Webex. If
everyone is in the same room, or if you're lucky enough to
have Telepresence, use a flipchart or whiteboard. I have
never understood the allergic reaction some people have to
flipcharts. It's not a sign that you're dummies just
because you can't remember the key points brought out five
or ten minutes ago. There's a lot going on in these
meetings, and visual tracking of the content keeps everyone
tracking together.
5. End with "Speak and Listen." This has become my favorite
tool to wrap up a meeting and ensure that what's really
important to the participants is out in the open, so it can
be addressed either in the next meeting or separately.
This is such a simple activity and it works equally well
for engineers, artists, teachers, accountants,
executives...you get the picture. Each person in the room
has 30 seconds to share whatever he or she wants to share.
There are no rules other than to be respectful. This is not
the time to flame your fellow meeting participants.
Go around the room in order, politely cutting the speaker
off at exactly 30 seconds. That includes the big boss - no
letting him or her prattle on over the time limit. Believe
me, after the first or second cut-off, everyone else will
be succinct.
Go two rounds, so that each person has spoken for up to 60
seconds. There is no discussion whatsoever during the
exercise. It is strictly about speaking and listening,
about getting in touch with each other's concerns and
perspectives.
This is also an excellent meeting opener, although
generally I use it as a closer.
Assuming your group is of a reasonable size, this should
take all of 5 - 10 minutes, and it has an impressive impact
on the team's sense of unity and cohesion. It also serves
the function of providing air time for what is important to
each person. You would be amazed at how far off your
assumptions can be from someone else's. For virtual teams
in particular, this is an essential opportunity for people
on the phone to really be heard.
----------------------------------------------------
Jennifer Selby Long, Founder and Principal of Selby Group,
provides executive coaching and organizational development
services. Jennifer's knack is helping clients navigate the
leadership and organizational challenges triggered by
change and growth. She knows firsthand that great plans
often fail because companies don't take into account the
human factors that come into play when implementing them.
Visit Jennifer at: http://selbygroup.com
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