Meeting: A planned gathering of people for a purpose. Examples: To plan and coordinate operations, make decisions, and share information.
We believe effectively designing and facilitating meetings is a crucial leadership skill. Improving the quality of your regularly occurring meetings will increase the effectiveness of your team and the larger organization. We also believe that having deliberate conversations about this topic with your team opens the gate for positive impact to flow.
Pause for a moment and call to mind the regularly occurring team (or staff) meeting you run or participate in. Do a quick assessment (and if you can, involve your team).
On a scale of 1-10, how effective do you think that meeting is?
This assessment and the conversation we are inviting you to have about it is a rare occurrence. Most leaders are not trained to convene and facilitate meetings, nor have they witnessed many excellent ones. We fall into the rut of how it’s always been done, and we are not deliberate about learning and making meetings better. Let’s change that.
Call to Action: Do something to improve one meeting you regularly attend. (1) Brainstorm a list of things you could do to improve the meeting; (2) Choose one and do it; (3) Finally, seek feedback on the impact it has on the meeting.
If you find yourself at a loss for ideas on this, you are in good company. Thinking about how to improve meetings is not a muscle we exercise often. But hang with us, this time investment will pay off.
Below, we have two things to help: (1) A visioning exercise that does wonders for contrasting key elements of good and bad meetings (especially powerful when done with your team); and (2) Some “pro tips” for leaders running and attending meetings. Do the visioning exercise and read the tips—and then circle back to the Call to Action above. As a reminder, you are mission success on the call to action if you do something to improve one meeting. What you learn along the way will pay dividends for you well into the future as you continue to hone this leadership skill.
“A meeting should be like a jazz performance. Everyone comes prepared, knows their part, and improvises together to create something remarkable.” –UNKNOWN AUTHOR
Contrasting good & bad meetings (A visioning exercise)
We invite you to invest a few minutes envisioning what a great meeting (and a bad meeting) would look like. Doing this with your team and sharing your responses creates valuable insights, shapes shared understanding of what right and wrong looks like, and catalyzes commitment to action.
First, Visualize Great:
Imagine participating in a meeting that feels effective, engaging, and meaningful. What would that experience be like for you? Journal for five minutes on this prompt, and if you can, have your team members do the same.
For us (Tony and Randy), the great meeting we are visualizing is focused on things that really matter. It has a clearly stated purpose, starts and ends on time, and includes the right people. Participants that need to speak up, speak up—to challenge assumptions, share alternative views, and cause us to exercise creative judgment to discover the best decisions and direction possible. It gets uncomfortable sometimes and yet stays productive and positive because we are collectively focused on discerning what is best for our organization. As we come to the close of the meeting, we revisit the purpose of the meeting and summarize our commitments, responsibilities, and timeline—which makes sure we are aligned. We feel a sense of accomplishment and increased clarity of direction that energizes us to take meaningful action.
Second, Visualize Bad:
Now imagine participating in an ineffective meeting that you can’t wait to end. What would that experience be like for you? Journal for five minutes on this prompt, and if you can, have your team members do the same.
For us (Tony and Randy), the bad meeting we are visualizing is focused on things that don’t matter. The purpose of the meeting is unclear, it starts and ends late, and key players are missing. People either drone on about trivial things or keep quiet on things they should speak up about. We keep looking at the clock and thinking about all the things we could be doing. We leave the meeting with no clarity on what, if anything, we agreed to. Our energy is depleted, and we find ourselves thinking of ways we can avoid the next meeting.
“…accept the fact that bad meetings start with the attitudes and approaches of the people who lead and take part in them.” –PATRICK LENCIONI
Pro tips for leaders running/facilitating the meeting
1. Prepare for the meeting. Treat the entire meeting as a pivotal opportunity to model what right looks like and to reinforce your vision and a culture of excellence.
2. Develop a written purpose for the meeting and state it at the start of the meeting. Hone it to a single sentence that captures the purpose for the meeting.
3. Clarify meeting norms and expectations. “This is how we do business.” Establish these norms and reinforce them regularly. Understand that you control the tone. For example, your choice of language, the way you speak about people not present, and your willingness to accept criticism all have a resounding effect on the meeting and beyond.
4. Do a quick check-in and/or check-out to start and finish meetings. This can be wide open like, “What’s on your mind (as we start or finish)?” or focused on a specific topic.
5. Design to draw out different perspectives. For example: ask questions, deliberately invite and welcome opposing views, designate a devil’s advocate or “red team,” and challenge assumptions.
6. Change it up – standing, walking, breaking bread together, or changing the venue (e.g., take it outside).
7. Visually chart progress to our goals so that everyone on the team can see where we are in relation to where we have committed to being.
8. Consider that a desired effect of meetings includes people getting to know each other better, which cultivates connection and trust. Create opportunities for people to share about their work and lives.
9. Be crystal clear about any agreements made during the meeting. Write them down, distribute them, and review them at subsequent meetings to create shared expectations, commitment, and accountability. If assigning a task, include a suspense.
10. Have the last three minutes of every meeting protected for participants to share feedback about the effectiveness of the meeting. This drives accountability and our pursuit of excellence.
Pro tips for leaders attending the meeting:
1. Prepare for the meeting. Treat the meeting as a pivotal opportunity to contribute to a culture of excellence.
2. Ask for the purpose of the meeting (if not clear)—and be a positive force for achieving that purpose.
3. Deliberately arrive early and be able to stay after. Take the opportunity to connect with team members and for sidebars before and after the meeting.
4. Be an exceptional follower and positive team player. This includes supporting your boss and your teammates left and right. Your primary responsibility is not to represent your sub-unit’s interests; rather, as part of the larger team, your primary responsibility is to contribute to the larger organization’s success.
5. Stay on topic and help others stay on topic. Avoid the urge to speak for the wrong reason (e.g., to appear smart, fear of irrelevance, competition with colleagues, etc.). Reject sarcasm and complaint—and, for the most part, choose some other time to showcase your “perfect” comedic timing.
6. Speak up when you have something meaningful to share—and ask genuine questions that need to be addressed. Asking thoughtful, compelling questions is leadership in action. Be tactful about it.
7. Be candid in the meeting AAR—you are part of making the next meeting better.
8. Be crystal clear about any agreements you make during the meeting. Write them down, share them with your team, and take the initiative to review them at subsequent meetings.
Which tips above resonate with you? Is there one you want to focus on first?
What would you add that is missing from these two lists?
“A well-run meeting is a microcosm of a well-run organization: focused, purposeful, and committed to continuous improvement.” –PATRICK LENCIONI
“The quality of your meetings reflects the quality of your organization’s culture and its ability to execute.” –DAVID C. BAKER
Conclusion
We hope this article serves as a nudge for you to invest energy in your team’s meetings–to make even one small adjustment to improve the design and facilitation of your regularly occurring meetings. We believe your team and the larger organization will be more effective as a result.
In closing, consider that the way you lead and participate in a meeting is an active demonstration of how much you care for the mission and respect your teammates—and their time.
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