Modern Mentor

Running meetings that matter with Mamie Kanfer Stewart

Episode Summary

Rachel sits down with Mamie Kanfer Stewart, host of The Modern Manager podcast, to dive deep into the art of leading effective and enjoyable meetings. From pinpointing desired outcomes to empowering participants, Mamie shares her wisdom on transforming meetings into productive, collaborative sessions that energize teams. They also explore when not to hold meetings and tips for navigating the hybrid meeting world.

Episode Notes

Rachel sits down with Mamie Kanfer Stewart, host of The Modern Manager podcast, to dive deep into the art of leading effective and enjoyable meetings. From pinpointing desired outcomes to empowering participants, Mamie shares her wisdom on transforming meetings into productive, collaborative sessions that energize teams. They also explore when not to hold meetings and tips for navigating the hybrid meeting world. 

Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.

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Episode Transcription

Hey, it’s Rachel Cooke, your Modern Mentor. I’m the founder of Lead Above Noise—a firm helping leaders end the tug of war between driving results and employee engagement. We do leader bootcamps, keynotes, and Pulse checks to help build custom blueprints. Let us know what you need!

In this episode I speak with Mamie Kanfer Stewart, host of The Modern Manager podcast and author of Momentum, about transforming meetings into effective, enjoyable, and productive experiences. Mamie shares practical tips on how to design meetings with clear outcomes, when not to have meetings, and how to leverage digital tools for hybrid and in-person gatherings. We also discuss how meetings reflect an organization’s culture and offer advice for leaders to foster open dialogue, accountability, and team empowerment. Mamie offers insights on the best ways to approach one-on-one meetings, balancing project updates with personal development conversations. Plus, we dive into how AI can be used to streamline meeting processes.

Highlights:

• Design meetings for outcomes: Mamie emphasizes the importance of having a clear desired outcome for every meeting to guide discussion and ensure productivity.
• When not to meet: Meetings should not be the default; Mamie provides guidance on when an email or a survey may be more effective than a meeting.
• Leveraging digital tools: Discover how digital tools and platforms can enhance both hybrid and in-person meetings by improving engagement and creating records for future reference.
• Meetings and organizational culture: Meetings are a reflection of your organization's culture. Well-run meetings can foster a culture of openness, collaboration, and accountability.
• One-on-one meetings: Mamie highlights the difference between project check-ins and one-on-one development meetings, and how both can be structured for success.
• AI in meetings: Learn how AI tools can automate meeting notes, track decisions, and ensure clarity, but also understand that human input is still crucial for accuracy.

Join me next week for another great episode. Until then, visit my website at leadabovenoise.com if your workplace could use an activation boost—a bootcamp, a keynote, a Pulse check—you choose! You can follow Modern Mentor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And of course, find and follow me on LinkedIn. Thanks so much for listening, and have a successful week!

Modern Mentor is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. It’s audio-engineered by Dan Feirabend. Our Director of Podcasts is Brannan Goetschius. Our Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist is Morgan Christianson. Our Digital Operations Specialist is Holly Hutchings. Our Marketing and Publicity Associate is Davina Tomlin.