Meetings that Work! - How to Quit being Bored and Frustrated and Start Getting Work Done

The Opportunity You are an unusual person if you have not spent time this week in a meeting and wondered why you were there, or wished you were somewhere else, actually getting something done. Millions of dollars are wasted by businesses- holding unnecessary meetings, having unclear objectives for meetings, and including people that don’t need to be there. It seems the higher up the “corporate ladder” we go, these time-wasting, frustrating, contentious, non-productive assemblies gobble up more of our time.

Having a clear objective of what needs to be accomplished is the most important component of a successful meeting.

The Solution

There is no excuse for holding (or attending) expensive, pointless, frustrating meetings. Either the meeting itself can be avoided by accomplishing the objective some other way, or the factors that make the meeting expensive, pointless and frustrating can be mitigated.

Know Your Objective

Whether your are calling the meeting or have “been called” to attend one, your time will be spent much more effectively (and your frustration level will be much lower) if you understand the specific objective of the meeting. Unfortunately, many meetings are called without a specific objective. People simply meet out of habit or custom or because they feel it is appropriate.

It is perfectly acceptable to ask “What are we hoping to accomplish here today?” or “How will we know if this meeting has been successful?”

Examples of successful objectives:

• To brainstorm solutions to a problem.
• To take a “checkpoint” on status when there are many interdependencies.
• There is an actual piece of work than can be best be produced by several people with different expertise.
• To kick off or wrap up a project and ensure everyone involved understands the implications.

Don’t hold unnecessary meetings

When not to have a meeting:

• Dealing with personnel issues like hiring, firing, negotiating salaries or dealing with disciplinary and corrective actions.
• There is inadequate data or poor preparation. (If you haven’t had time to prepare, it is more acceptable to reschedule than to “fake it.”)
• The information could be communicated better by some other means. (E-mail, Intranet, telephone, memo, or one-to-one discussion.
• The subject matter is confidential.
• Your mind is made up or you’ve already arrived at a decision.
• The subject is not important enough to justify everyone’s time.
• There is too much anger or hostility in the group and people need time to calm down before they can collaborate effectively.

Have the Right People (and the Right Number) in the Room

The right people are determined by the meeting’s objective. Who needs to be directly involved in the task at hand? Who can be informed later? Generally speaking, every person in the room must have an absolute need to be there. Each person added to the meeting adds to the amount of time it takes to communicate circumstances, arrive at mutually acceptable decisions, and move along the agenda.

Each person invited to the meeting should understand his or her role or expected contribution. Typically, we invite people that we “think should be there” but we don’t really give much thought to why we want them there or what we want that person to do. Decide in advance what roles need to filled to ensure you reach your objective and then determine the best person to fill that role.

Stick to the Point

When items are brought up by participants in meetings (as they frequently do) it is important to capture them. One of the main benefits of meetings is the synergy and creative thought that happens when people get together to discuss and issue from several sides. However, getting sidetracked makes you less likely to get your objective accomplished in the amount of time you’ve set aside.

Capture “side items” in the minutes, or set an action item for someone to take responsibility to ensure the “side item” is taken care of.

Follow Rules of Dialogue

Although we’ve been taught since we were school children that we must play nicely with others, wait our turn to speak, and treat one another respectfully, we’ve also all been in meetings where those basic niceties get thrown out the window.

Speaking out of turn, interrupting, raising voices, and ignoring points of view robs the individuals involved of credibility and robs the meeting of any potential for synergy.

Having a simple, agreed-to “rules of dialogue” and having a person who is entrusted to ensure it is followed removes an element of fear and frees up the meeting to get work done in the absence of hostility and frustration.

Evaluate Your Meetings and Change to Fit Your Needs

You can do this formally, by passing out a survey form at the end of the meeting, or informally, by simply asking the question- “Did everyone get what they wanted (or needed) out of this session? How can we make the next one better?”

Meetings don’t have to be frustrating, vague, hostile, and ineffective. By putting some time and effort into preparing for them and considering the factors in this article, you may actually find yourself looking forward to them! The people invited to them may not admit it right away, but they may find themselves looking forward to them, too! (Or at least not dreading them!)