Meetings form the cornerstone of how teams work. They can be one-on-one or the entire group. In our current situation of limited time (and that was before COVID-19), meetings and the time we dedicate to them can be a significant drag on our productivity. Many people come away from their meetings with the ‘well that’s 2 hours of my life I’ll never get back’ feeling. So how do we make meetings better and a good use of time? I put this in 2 categories – preparation and conduct.
Preparation
When preparing for a meeting, the effort put in will show benefits at the output. This includes preparation by the organiser as well as the attendees. Pre-reading and an agenda will mean people come prepared and ready to discuss what needs to be discussed. Also having an outcome in mind (we will decide this or we will cover that) means everyone will stay on track. The use of videoconferencing platforms like Zoom now tend to constrain the time of the meeting – which is a good thing if that time is planned, not so much if the meeting is allowed to meander. Preparation doesn’t stop at the start of the meeting – capturing key information, decisions and follow-up actions are all part of making sure the meeting has a purpose.
Conduct
During the meeting itself, better outcomes are achieved when everyone contributes appropriately. I say appropriately because it isn’t just equally – some people have more to say, others have less to contribute but need to walk away understanding what their tasks are. This reinforces the need to have a guided meeting so that everyone has the opportunity to contribute, not just the loudest. This can be achieved using questions like ‘what are your takeaway tasks’ or ‘does this agree with your perspective’? Without the contribution from everyone, it might as well be a lecture.
These are just a couple of my thoughts about getting the best out of meetings – run poorly they waste a lot of time, organised and conducted well they are focused and beneficial for the attendees.
#MakeMeetingsWork
Matthew Harvey 