Why is there a sudden drain of energy when the topic of meetings arises in coaching sessions? When questioned the issues normally arise around them being poorly organised, overly long, and meandering or driven by the moods of the dominant personalities in the room.
Having both facilitated and participated in thousands of meetings in my career, I list below my five top tips in guaranteeing your meetings are productive.
1. State the Objective Clearly
What is the purpose of the meeting? Are you brainstorming? Making plans? Reporting status updates? No matter what the underlying objective of your meeting, make sure it is clearly stated up front to all participants.
2. Respect the Ritual of Regular Meetings
There is always a certain amount of ritual to meetings (“routine sets you free”), and this routine serves an important purpose. As much as people complain about being overly scheduled, with too little time for their “day jobs,” they do appreciate the chance to align on the same issues in the same way on a predictable basis.
Once you’ve established the protocols of a particular meeting type, you can quickly get into the real issues, rather than wasting time going through a new agenda. Following a routine does not mean that equal time must be allotted for all topics every week, or that everyone present needs to provide updates. I advise following a repeatable agenda for recurring meetings, while also allowing for slight variations, in order to prioritise the most relevant and important issues.
3. Plan for Structure and Flexibility
When planning for a meeting always allow for a structured portion of the meeting and a more flexible portion toward the end. Depending on the meeting type allow for half or more of the allotted time to be open-ended. Personally, I’d rather follow the energy of the people in the room than rigidly adhere to an agenda just because it’s been typed and distributed.
4. Make sure you lead
For me, it is more than frustrating to sit through a meeting without a proactive leader. When you are in charge, think of yourself as the meeting’s pilot. It’s your job to keep everyone updated of where you’re going and when.
If the conversation is flowing in a different, and more productive, direction than your agenda allows for, don’t be afraid to toss it overboard (see previous tip). Just tell everyone that’s what’s happening. Otherwise, you’ll lose people in the confusion between the expectations you’ve set for them and the reality around them.
5. Don’t try to please everyone
Attendees will often have competing priorities and points of view, and there’s no way to please everyone, all the time. You can’t ensure that all attendees get equal time, equal treatment, and equal praise, so don’t even try. You have your own leadership style and meeting preferences. Own them.
