6 Things You Need to Know About Leading a Meeting
If you don't know how to run effective meetings, your business, your organization, and your career are doomed.
There's
nothing worse than a bad meeting. You sit there grinding your teeth wondering
why in the world you have to waste your time sitting through something that
never should have happened in the first place.
The
fact that we've all been there, sometimes weekly or even daily, doesn't make it
any less annoying. It doesn't even begin to take the edge off that nagging
thought that you could be making so much better use of your time.
But
here's the thing. Meetings aren't just an unfortunate fact of business life.
They're a hugely important fact of business life. They're how strategies are
debated, budgets are vetted, projects are reviewed, and plans are agreed upon.
They're how deals are negotiated and how they ultimately get done.
Not
only are meetings the most efficient ways to get certain things done, they're
the most effective tools for managing teams--if they're done right, that is.
I
once calculated that I sat in more than 30,000 meetings during my 30-year career.
Every type of meeting you can think of, from executive staff and board meetings
to project reviews and strategy sessions. From one-on-ones to all hands
operations reviews. From press interviews to customer meetings.
And
you know what? I learned a lot about how to make meetings more effective. Here
are 7 tips that I guarantee will make a big difference for you and your
organization.
Learn
this equation.
No
leader + no documentation + no follow up = waste of time. Every meeting
has to have a leader, a stated purpose, a start and end time, and a valid
reason for each and every person to be there. The leader documents conclusions,
plans, action items, whatever, then follows up.
Do
you even know what you're doing?
Every
leader should know how to run effective meetings, like how to set ground rules
for constructive engagement, how to use tools like Parking Lots to take issues
offline, and how to bring people to consensus.
Have
them in the afternoon.
I
once read in a Scott Adams Dilbert book (no, I'm not kidding) that people do
their best work in the morning, so you should have meetings in the afternoon. I
asked my staff and they agreed unanimously. Turned out to be a great move. Also
most people are more relaxed after lunch. Don't ask me why.
Beware
the hive mentality.
I've
worked with companies where executives were double and triple booked in
meetings most days and managers were required to have weekly one-on-ones with
their boss and staff (and monthly with peers). How in the world do CEOs expects
their management teams to get anything done that way?
Lose
the hallway meetings.
Founders
and other start-up executives are often fond of ad-hoc hallway meetings. The
problem is that decisions are made without input from key stakeholders.
Sometimes that's a smokescreen for passive-aggressive behavior. Other times it
results in strategy du
jour. Either way, it destroys organizational effectiveness.
Challenge
the status quo.
If
you run a periodic staff meeting, occasionally ask your team what you can do to
improve it and help make them more effective. You'll usually get at least one
good suggestion. Not only that, but your folks will appreciate it.
By: Steve Tobak
Source: Inc.