Meetings have been a hot topic for ages. Too many, too unproductive. Feels like we should have fixed them by now. But we haven’t. Here are some strategies to try if you’re still drowning in meetings that go nowhere.
In this episode of Modern Mentor, Rachel Cooke tackles the eternal woe of unproductive meetings and offers a refreshing take on reclaiming your time. Tune in for a dose of practical tips to make your meetings not only bearable but downright effective.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
Find Modern Mentor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or subscribe to the newsletter to get more tips to fuel your professional success.
Modern Mentor is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips.
Links:
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/modern-mentor-newsletter
https://www.facebook.com/QDTModernMentor
https://twitter.com/QDTModernMentor
https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-mentor-podcast/
https://www.leadabovenoise.com/
Hey, it’s Rachel Cooke, your Modern Mentor. I’m the founder of Lead Above Noise—a firm specializing in helping leaders and organizations fully activate their teams – driving both engagement and performance.
So, you know how we keep talking about meetings? Like that we’re drowning in them, and they aren’t super productive, and they’re sucking our souls right out through our ears? But also, even though we keep talking about them they’re not really getting better?
At least – that’s what I’m experiencing. Spending time with clients who are like – yes, meetings are crushing us. But we don’t know how to break the cycle, so we just keep having meetings.
If this is you, your org, or your team (and I’m betting it is), then let’s talk today about some simple changes you can start making in your approach to meetings. And see if we can’t carve out just a little extra breathing room for you to enjoy.
1. Turn your agenda into objectives
One of the great challenges of meetings is understanding – what are we all doing here? Not spiritually or existentially, but literally – like what are we here to get done?
I’ve noticed recently that I’m often invited to meetings with an agenda. You know – like a roadmap for how we’ll spend our time together.
But I’m a staunch believer in objectives – like the outcomes we’re here to land.
An agenda is more run-of-show. We’ll spend 15 minutes on updates, 15 minutes on brainstorming and 15 minutes summarizing and action planning.
You can do the math. That meeting will be 45 minutes, so it’s over when 45 minutes have passed.
But objectives are actual outcomes. Intentions. Things to be done.
Like…
· We will select Option A or Option B
· We will identify a resource to do XYZ
· We will brainstorm a set of possibilities for achieving
I might schedule a meeting for 60 minutes, but if at the 27-minute mark our objectives are met? Guess who’s getting 33 minutes of their lives back? (That’s me showing off my math skills).
The end of the meeting is defined not by a clock but by our achievements. And also, by focusing on outcomes you can be flexible in the approach you take. You haven’t made any promises about how the meeting will flow – only where it will land.
So when you send out a meeting invite, don’t talk about what you’ll talk about. Talk about what needs to be done to deliver success.
Outcomes should be action-oriented. And if you’re struggling to define the action, then ask yourself – should this really be a meeting?
2. Invite purposefully
When we start with objectives we know where we need to land. Which helps us answer the next question, which is – who needs to get us there?
Like if the objective of the meeting is to review options A and B to choose which is best, then the question is – who needs to be in the room to present the key information and/or contribute to the decision?
If you’re the host of the meeting, really ask yourself before you hit send to those 25 people who will never get that hour of their lives back.
If you’ve been invited, ask yourself – am I there to contribute something? If so, be clear on what that is, and be ready to contribute it.
Or…am I there just to be included? Or because I need to know the outcome of the decision? If it’s one of these…then opt out. That’s right – OPT OUT. Let the host know you appreciate being included, but your time would be better spent elsewhere. And could they please let you know the outcome of the decision?
3. Assign prework
I know I know. We’re all busy. Who has time to do prework? This is the mindset I encounter most regularly.
But here’s a reframe: Who has time to sit through a series of meetings in which things don’t get resolved because we won’t have all the information? So then we’ll need to have another meeting?
I know. It’s a little circular. But really think about it. How often are you in a meeting that ends with the next steps being a bunch of data gathering which we’ll then discuss in a follow up meeting? What if that data gathering happened before the meeting? And then we could just decide?
When we begin with clear objectives and the right list of participants, prework becomes an easier ask.
When we’re able to tell participants exactly what we mean to achieve in a meeting, the inputs we’ll need become clear. And asking someone to generate them on the condition that no additional meetings will be needed? Feels like a win, right?
4. Strip out updates
If one of your meeting objectives is to provide an update? Pull it out. Capture it – in writing, in a quick video, in a slack message – and send it to those who need to know.
If your only meeting objective is to provide an update? That, friends, is the infamous meeting that should’ve been an email. Cancel it!
5. Shine a light on hard things
And finally. One of the biggest drivers of unproductivity in meetings? It’s our collective discomfort with calling out what needs to be called out.
So often, we choose politeness out of directness. And also so often, we end up fixing big problems that could have been addressed when they were only small annoyances.
Maybe you sense that a customer email about to go out is going to trigger a service problem. Say something before it goes out!
Maybe you know that someone on the team isn’t meeting their deadlines which is putting the project at risk. Ask, directly, in the meeting about whether specific things are on track – and if they’re not, be ready to discuss a contingency plan.
Of course, always be respectful and assume the best. But don’t be afraid to call out the bad…because they’ll only get worse the longer you wait. And of course, that’ll require a whole new slew of more meetings!
Join me next week for another great episode. Until then, visit my website at leadabovenoise.com if your organization is looking to dial up its Employee Experience or deliver some leadership development that activates change. You can follow Modern Mentor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Find and follow me on LinkedIn. Thanks so much for listening and have a successful week.