Oh, another meeting request? Since the world went online, meeting requests have increased exponentially. Mainly when working within teams where people can access my calendar or use scheduling tools to find available spots. Removing the need for commuting while the world worked from home meant any calendar gap was up for grabs. Many meeting requests are outside my control, so I want to ensure that I lead meaningful, efficient, and necessary meetings.
Susan Scott, the author of Fierce Conversations, tells us that the conversation is the relationship. Leadership requires relationship, and therefore, the true purpose of any meeting should be a conversation that moves us forward – whether in our relationship or what we are working on together.
Patrick Lencioni, in Death by Meeting, created an effective structure and foundation for my meetings. There are three reasons to meet: calibrate, have a tactical discussion, or take a strategic deep dive into an issue.
However, we adhere to codes or values to ensure we succeed in effective meetings.
9 Codes for Successful Meetings
1. Be On-Time, And Ready To Go
The start time is precisely that. It’s not the arrival or logging-in time; it’s the ‘we are ready to start time.’ Turning up at the start time is not being punctual. It’s late. A leader once corrected me (after constantly arriving at meeting start times) that if my disruption caused five minutes of delay for the twelve people in the room, I would have wasted an hour of other people’s time because of my delay.
TIP: Buffer time in your scheduling to ensure you have arrived (or logged in) and are ready to start on time.
2. Stay Present And Fully Engaged
Be attentive and active in the conversation. If the meeting is unproductive or inefficient, then get involved in the conversation and guide it.
In online meetings, it can be even more challenging to stay attentive. I’ve been guilty of utilizing that second monitor on my desk to turn unproductive meetings into productive time for myself – or so I thought. It becomes evident in the reflection of my glasses that I am scrolling on another screen. But you may have also noticed that glazed-over look people get when they start looking at something other than staying involved in the meeting. So, I often begin meetings with a request to remain attentive and turn off notifications and other distractions.
3. Be Prepared And Ready To Contribute
Have you ever been involved in a meeting where anyone complained because it finished earlier than the scheduled time? Usually, the meeting concludes because we achieved what was necessary, generally because people came ready and prepared.
Every meeting should have an agenda issued in advance, and that agenda allows you to come ready for the discussion. Ensuring you’ve done all the pre-reading required and even prepared for the discussion values the time of others and works towards an effective meeting.
TIP: If you lead the meeting, engage and create space for every participant to contribute.
4. Stay On Point And Keep To Time
Those trademark words “let’s take that conversation offline” usually indicate that a meeting has gone off track. An agenda, a clear understanding of the purpose of the meeting, and all members prepared for discussion are essential ingredients to valuing time and staying on point.
Furthermore, keeping to the meeting’s scheduled finish is crucial in valuing time. If decisions need to be made, use the last five minutes to book another meeting or decide the next steps.
5. Meetings Are For Discussion
I firmly believe that meetings are for discussion and not for transferring information. There are other mediums for that – record a video, send an email, or even put it in a document. Don’t gather people into rooms (physically or online) and talk to them for an hour.
When people gather, there is often an enormous amount of experience gathered in that room. So, don’t waste the opportunity to open up a topic or an obstacle for discussion. In the framework of meetings I use (from Patrick Lencioni’s Death By Meeting), the purpose is always to calibrate and discuss a challenge or obstacle that needs some brainstorming or strategic planning for the next steps.
6. State The Purpose And The Structure
When scheduling a meeting, be very clear on the purpose and the structure it will have. For example, are you gathering to calibrate the current status of a project? Wrestle over a delay and find a solution? Take a look at the next budget forecast. In each of these examples, participants will need time to prepare to be most effective in discussion and its outcomes before the meeting. An agenda should also outline the structure and let the attendees know who will chair the meeting, lead the different parts, and assign timeframes.
I have a general rule that I won’t attend the meeting if an agenda has not been provided in advance. My team also knows they don’t need to participate in any meeting I have initiated if no agenda is provided.
7. Close Decisions And Identify Action Items
Every meeting and interaction should move us forward. Before a meeting concludes, any decisions should be finalized, action items identified, and it should be clear who is responsible for each. Even if this hasn’t been achieved, take the last five minutes of the meeting to make these decisions.
Even an outcome of scheduling another meeting is better than no action at all. However, a good practice is to assign some “homework” so that the next meeting is better prepared and, therefore, more effective in outcomes.
8. Record Outcomes And Recap Clearly
Are we all taking notes? Is someone assigned to take minutes through this meeting? What happens with the minutes afterwards?
Too often, I’ve disconnected from a day full of back-to-back meetings with no recollection of the action items I was responsible for. These days, I have better discipline in recording my notes and not trusting my memory. I also make it a practice of meetings to confirm who is responsible for the meeting notes at the beginning so that no action items or critical discussion points are lost.
Another great practice is to include a recap at the end of a meeting, a reflection on topics discussed, and a summary of the next steps. This helps everyone to walk away from the meeting with a clear understanding of the outcomes.
Have Fun
It doesn’t have to be boring. Have some fun! Particularly with online meetings, we miss the chance for casual conversation before it starts and after it concludes, and everyone wanders back to their desk. Make the space in your schedule and agenda to include some informal time.
Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash