Reach out and...
As I noted last week, I am not a big fan of meetings. Mostly because many meetings are poorly conceived, badly run, and don’t achieve any real objectives. Other than that, I guess they are fine.
It’s not that I am against gatherings. Social interaction is a needed part of building a cohesive organizational structure. But I don’t mean those horrific, orchestrated organizational events that we have all been subjected to.
Or these, writ larger.
Badly designed and executed meetings, of any sort, send a message that you don’t value your associates’ time. They can be seen as a symbol of either a top-down, hierarchical decision-making process, or a closed-circle group think.
When you must gather folks together for valid organizational reasons, collaboration is the best way to do so:
Ask at the outset: Is a meeting necessary? What will it accomplish that an email can’t? Get buy in first.
Form the agenda in consultation with the folks you need to meet with.
Set the agenda, with clear goals and desired outcomes. Circulate it early. Ask for feedback. This sets expectations.
Stick to the agenda; purposefully manage the meeting. Start the meeting on time. Don’t tolerate tardiness. It is disrespectful.This manages the expectations you have set.
Set a time limit on the meeting. Stick to it.
Offer social time AFTER the meeting, not before. Make it optional of course.
Make clear follow-up tasks and responsibilities part of the post-meeting discussion (via email.)
So don’t give bad meeting. And don’t accept all meeting requests. Be protective of your time and that of others.
The time you save may not be yours alone.
Good post, Al. If we recognize that time is an important asset (if not the most important), then it's time to take a smarter approach to meetings.
I was required to hold staff meetings, as there were often important things to be communicated to my staff of 6 from The Mother Ship. (The Mother Ship was communicationally challenged when it came to those not higher on the food chain.) I held them weekly at 12:30 on Mondays, when we were freshest. (Once a week meant less stuff to deal with. Second shift came in at 12:30, and the rest of us were ready for lunch by 1pm.) We did a round-robin so everyone was current on each other's tasks/challenges. The "agenda" was each staff member's name after mine, rotated as to who got to go first. I asked that no one bring "treats," although beverages were OK. I took notes and distributed them that afternoon. Sometimes we got out before 1pm. It worked well for us--much better than the all-afternoon-enduro monthly meetings at The Mother Ship those of us at my level were required to attend.