The Art Of Running An Effective Meeting
It seems that meetings are a way of life in the business world these days. There are many organizations whose key resources seem to be tied up in an endless string of meetings from start to finish almost every single day. Which begs the question, ‘when does any real work get done?’ The unfortunate reality for many is that they often find themselves working longer hours, evenings and weekends in order to barely keep themselves above water. No wonder people are stressed out!
In my more than 20 years in the business, I have been a part of many very good meetings and, of course, my share of clunkers. I’ve started to compile a list of things that will serve one well in preparing for and running an effective and productive meeting. Here we go…
- Agenda - distribute one ahead of time so that invitees clearly understand the objective and purpose of the meeting.
- Purpose - ensure that the objective and purpose of the meeting is clear and be sure to communicate this information ahead of time as it will help people decide whether or not they should attend, assist them in preparing for the session, and can also help keep things on track. I also suggest reviewing the objective and purpose at the outset of the meeting to ensure a common understanding before diving into the details.
- Start and Wrap Up - always start and finish on time. There should be very few exceptions to this. Avoid delaying the start of a meeting to wait for latecomers. It seems silly to waste the time of people who managed to arrive on time. On the flip side, as the meeting is drawing to a close and there is a burning, business need to carry on past the planned stop time, the facilitator should seek the permission of attendees as a show of courtesy and respect. Many people often find themselves in back-to-back meetings every day and simply cannot stay.
- Facilitation - everyone attending the meeting should be given the opportunity to provide input and feedback. The facilitator can employ a variety of tactics to ensure that a small group of people or a single individual do not dominate at the expense of others who may also wish to contribute.
- Participation - everyone attending must be encouraged to actively participate and be given the opportunity to provide input and feedback throughout the meeting. It is the role of the facilitator to ensure that this happens. If someone’s opinion doesn’t matter, why are they there in the first place?
- Minutes - capture and publish minutes with action items within a couple of business days of the meeting. Be sure to include the date, time, attendees, objective and purpose, key decisions made and any action items, including who each action item was assigned to and the expected time frame for completion. Be sure to follow up with assignees on action items and communicate progress and the outcome with meeting participants.
I would like to hear from you and your experiences with the meeting phenomenon. Share the good, bad, humourous and ugly with me via email at derek.gillard@integritas.ca and I will publish a selection of them in our next Newsletter. In the meantime, enjoy your meetings.
