Meetings … Eating Your Broccoli 3
Meetings are the “broccoli” of conducting business.
We do not relish meetings, but we participate in them because they are often a necessary requirement for getting things done. The way you conduct meetings can increase your productivity as well as others participating in your meetings. This is 3rd of 3 articles that provide a format for planning productive meetings.
The format includes the following components.
- Desired Results
- Approach
- Actions to Be Taken
- Participants
- Reality Check
- Preparation
- Duration
- Timing
- Logistics
The 1st article addressed Desired Results and Approach. The 2nd article addressed Actions to Be Taken, Participants, and Reality Check. This article, the 3rd of 3 articles, addresses Preparation, Duration, Timing, and Logistics.
Suggested Preparation measures include:
- Review information from previous meetings that can provide the framework or point of reference for the meeting.
- Identify and prepare for issues and concerns that may evolve during the meeting.
- Confirm the roles individual participants will serve in the meeting.
- Establish rules that will govern the meeting.
Information from previous meeting can be gathered from the follow-up notes, particularly actions to be taken that were identified in the meetings. Other information can be gathered from discussions you have had with participants after previous meetings. Setting the framework or point of reference can avoid meetings starting on the bad foot of participants spending time at the beginning of the meeting rehashing information that was covered in previous meetings. (This is why thorough and timely meeting follow-up notes and discussions between meetings are so important.)
It is impossible to anticipate all the issues and concerns that may evolve during a meeting. However, we can think about issues that may likely evolve and how the issues can be addressed. Consider:
- How the issues can be clarified or focused to facilitate resolution.
- Components or aspects of issues that can be resolved in the meeting.
- Measures that can be taken to resolve the issues or components of issues in separate meetings or discussions including individuals who are best suited to resolve the issues.
Identifying and considering how issues could be addressed will facilitate keeping your meetings focused on achieving the Desired Result.
It is easy to fall into the routine of inviting the same participants to each meeting in a series of related meetings. Ensure that the invitees have a role in achieving the Desired Results. Participants in previous meetings may longer need to be present in the meeting you plan to conduct. There may other individuals you need to include based on purpose of the meeting (Desired Results). Discuss roles with new participants to clarify what will be expected of them. Also, clarify changing roles for participants in previous meetings (e.g. subject matter expert to supporter).
Establishing rules for conducting the meeting sets the playing field that will keep your meetings focused. Rules could include:
- How decisions will be made.
- How input will be solicited from participants.
- Scope of the meeting. (This is a subtle way of communicating that the meeting will adhere to the agenda.)
Decisions can be reached by agreement or consensus. Agreement means agreement on all components or aspects. Consensus means that individuals may not agree wholeheartedly with all components or aspects, but will support the decisions.
How decisions are made can also include the number of participants who will be required for agreement or consensus (everyone, majority, etc.).
Ensuring that your meeting achieve the desired results within the scheduled time (Duration) can be accomplished by:
- Starting each item on the agenda with an action (reach agreement, communicate, establish, etc.).
- Estimating the time required to achieve each item on the agenda.
- Allocating time to:
- Communicate meeting rules at the beginning of the meeting.
- Introduce new members of the team.
- Clarify and summarize what was accomplished.
- Establish actions to be taken, next steps, focus, and timing of the next meeting.
- Building a time contingency. (I suggest a 10-15% contingency depending on the scope and complexity of the agenda items.)
Focus of meetings, circumstances or situations driving the need for meetings, the location of participants, and characteristics or preferences of the decision maker or senior person in the meeting are considerations for determining the Timing of the meeting (time of day, time of week, etc.).
Meetings that will require the generation or exchange of ideas (brainstorming, etc.) or focus on getting a project or initiative organized are best scheduled when minds are fresh. I suggest avoiding early morning meetings, meetings right after lunch (minds can be sluggish after eating), late in the day (energy levels tend to diminish toward the end of the day), or on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons.
- Meetings focusing on reaching decisions are best scheduled close to lunch (hunger can drive people to decide), toward the end of the day (desire to wrap up the day), or on Fridays (desire to close out the week).
- For series of meetings that include participants from different time zones and countries, rotate meeting times to encourage the engagement of all participants. (You may have team members whose time zones are as much as 12-15 hours different from the time zones in the US. The engagement of team members in these times zones may diminish as their participation requires them to constantly work after their normal business hours, sometimes in the early morning hours of the day.)
- Engagement of decision makers, senior participants, and key influencers can be influenced by their personal preferences. Some are early morning people, some do not get their minds in gear until mid-morning, and some can be more decisive at the end of the day. Keep in mind the desired results of the meeting and how this relates to the preferences of these key participants.
Situations and circumstances can override all other considerations. The need to respond immediately to an urgent situation may require meeting as quickly as possible.
Once Preparation is completed and Duration and Timing are determined, you are ready to send the meeting notification. Include desired results and the agenda in the meeting notification to ensure that participants know the objective of the meeting and how the objective will be accomplished before the meeting.
Logistics can be easily overlooked. Planning logistics isn’t exactly an interesting endeavor. However, failure to cover the little things can keep big things from going smoothly. Ensure that:
- Conference room can comfortably accommodate all the participants.
- Audio/visual equipment is working efficiently.
- Videoconferencing aids and equipment will work efficiently for individuals participating from other locations and that these individuals know how to join and participate using the aids.
Conducting effective meetings is one of the touchpoints of Presentation. Presentation is one of the 6Ps of Personal Marketing that I covered in the article “Do the Right People Know Your Brand?”
Marketing is a component of operating The Business of You, a process for creating personal value from your career—your most important economic asset.
Do people ask you why your meetings are being held?
Do people run for cover when you send meeting notifications?
Have you discovered after meetings that your meetings were not necessary?
Do the participants in your meetings contribute or distract from achieving the desired results?
Do you encounter difficulty keeping your meetings focused?
Do you find it difficult to keep participants engaged during your meetings?
Has anyone asked you for frequent meeting hours awards for attending your meetings?
Have you witnessed career brokers forming opinions based on how well individuals conduct meetings? Career brokers are individuals who decide or can influence decisions on who gets promoted or assigned to high visibility projects.
I invite you to share your comments, experiences, and suggestions. This helps me provide information that may help you address your career opportunities and challenges.
Fields of Success offers complimentary coaching sessions. Visit the Contact page on the Fields of Success website to schedule a session.
Linwood Bailey is a career coach and the author of The Business of Me: Your Job … Your Career … Your Value. The Business of Me provides a career management process and information designed for today’s business professional. Since 2008, Linwood has enabled business professionals to manage their careers. Linwood, the been there coach, provides innovative career management solutions derived from his 34 years of experience managing functions and people in multiple industries, regions, and corporate cultures.
Founder, Fields of Success, LLC
Enabling professionals to convert career challenges into career success stories.
