While in a meeting, Sally says:
“I’m pleased we finally came to a decision… Jim, you took notes, right?”
To which he replies:
“Umm, I’ll set up a meeting to confirm what we agreed upon.”
It’s funny… because it’s true.
When you look forward at your schedule for next week, how many hours are filled with meetings? Meet we must, and we must have meetings. So let’s make them worth our time, and not such a drain of our energy.
Holding a meeting just for “meeting’s sake” wastes time, leads to inadequate communication, and fails to capitalize on bright employee brain power. If you are holding a meeting without a purpose, is equal to setting a block of time on everyone’s calendar that’s labeled “invitation to daydream” (and paying them to do it).
Take your business where you want it to go and have your team help you get it there. Establish a healthy meeting rhythm, and keep meetings affective. Here are questions to guide you.
What are your rhythm needs? The purpose, frequency, and duration of meetings differ. Take a look at your goals and people structure to help decide how often you need to meet and why.
- Daily huddle
- Weekly meetings
- Monthly session
- Quarterly and Yearly gathering
What is the agenda? Please have one. A real one.
- The type of meeting (question #1 above) drives the agenda. Because the frequency and duration of the types of meetings differ, then the purpose will differ as well.
- Have a standard structure for each type of meeting. The basic structure for each type of meeting will remain constant while the content will vary.
What will happen next? Close every meeting with a level of accountability.
- Close with the actions that result from decisions made in the meeting. Determine “Who is going to do What, and When”
- This is key for ensuring that the meeting remains purposeful and that steps are taken to move you toward goals.
- Assign someone to take meeting notes that can be summarized in a quick email out to the whole team at the end. This creates clear communication and accountability.
You can establish these changes today, and have affective meetings by tomorrow! Yes, please.
