<\/p>\n
I asked a few readers to tell me why they hated meetings.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s one\u2026<\/p>\n
I have a quarterly meeting with a funder. I travel 250 miles to get there. When I get there, it\u2019s clear that no one has read the report I spent hours putting together. I essentially recite the report and then travel 250 miles home. ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Here\u2019s another one \u2013 a cross-departmental planning meeting for the upcoming fall gala\u2026.<\/p>\n My boss insists on a weekly team meeting. The agenda hits my inbox minutes before it starts and it\u2019s missing important things, but that isn\u2019t even the point. She begins by reading a list of RSVPs (which is already in a Google doc we all have access to.) Next she reports on things she had previously included in emails she had already sent to us. She then peppers us with questions that make us all feel like we are on a witness stand. We never initiate what we think are important discussion points. What a total waste of time.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n No wonder people hate meetings. Meetings like these are keeping them from actually doing real work.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Fascinating, right? Many people see meetings as somehow apart from \u201creal work.\u201d<\/p>\n This is totally infuriating. Especially in the nonprofit sector.<\/p>\n Time is a precious commodity. And as we all know, time is money. And money is programs. And money is precious. And money comes from folks who believe in your mission. And you have a responsibility to those people to make the best possible use of your time to drive your mission downfield.<\/p>\n There is a nonchalance about this that also infuriates me. People just behave like lemmings at meetings they know will not add value to their work. And they do NOTHING about it.<\/p>\n You are all agents of change. And yet you are not prepared to take this on?<\/p>\n Come on!<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to diagnose and fix this problem. And not only do I have a point of view (what a surprise), I also have some suggestions.<\/p>\n Some meetings are important. Some are even useful. But as we all know, many are not. What do those look like?<\/p>\n 1) No agenda<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ll talk with clients en route to a meeting. I\u2019ll ask what the meeting is about. They will simply say, \u201cNo idea; we just meet every week.\u201d<\/p>\n 2) An unprepared meeting leader<\/strong><\/p>\n The agenda is the first telltale sign but there\u2019s more to it. I call it the \u201cI’m sorry I\u2019m late, I feel like I\u2019ve been shot out of a cannon\u201d <\/em>meeting leader who then says either \u201cOK, so what are we talking about today?\u201d <\/em>or \u201cOK, so what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 3) Let\u2019s go around the room<\/strong><\/p>\n This is either selfish or lazy. Go ahead. Disagree with me. This is why the Internet created \u201cComments.\u201d If the information is being delivered as a monologue, these are oral reports and not a meeting. And you know an unprepared meeting leader will not cut off the person who believes the longer the monologue, the greater the perceived value of her work. So an unprepared meeting chair also manages the meeting poorly.<\/p>\n 4) Attendees are \u201cCongressional representatives\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Folks who show up for meetings attempt to make their case for their own fabulousness (or of the fabulousness of \u201ctheir\u201d people), or are advocating for more of something for their department. In the worst of instances, they find crushing their colleagues like bugs to be a kind of sport. Sounds like Congress.<\/p>\n Before I offer tangible suggestions on how to take control of meetings and ensure that they are actually an integral part of the work, let\u2019s distinguish between two kinds.<\/p>\n The best example here is a weekly meeting of the boss\u2019s direct reports. A senior team meeting. Here you are bringing your key lieutenants together regularly to _______??<\/p>\n This <\/strong>is the question. And the one that is answered only rarely. Generally these meetings happen because that\u2019s what you do when you are a boss.<\/p>\n My tips below will only work for standing meetings if this group has a charge.<\/em><\/strong> What value does this meeting bring to the entire organization? Standing meetings only makes sense if all participants understand what is expected. Am I to stay in my lane? (Development, Finance, for ex)? Or do you expect me to leave my department \u201chat\u201d in my office and arrive with my \u201corganizational hat?\u201d<\/p>\n Once everyone understands what a successful meeting looks like, there is hope that we can create a meeting that is actually work!<\/strong><\/p>\n Typically, this type of meeting is called to untangle a cross departmental knot. It could be within a department if there are multiple areas that are not in sync for a particular purpose \u2013 an event (like the example above), a strategy, a crisis.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n It should be clear to all that this meeting will make the work of each individual AND the group more effective and\/or efficient.<\/p>\n Every participant gets an agenda and has the opportunity to help to shape the agenda. The very best meetings are owned by the participants.<\/p>\n And when I mean \u2018participates,\u2019 I mean that every single person offers a point of view, an opinion, a new idea. And participating does not mean spending 10 minutes telling everyone something you could have shared in an email prior to the meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cInvested\u201d means (a) believes the meeting will have merit (b) believes that the decisions reached will be richer for the opinions and comments of attendees (c) is willing and able to take control and manage the conversation so it is productive, so that the agenda gets covered, so that no one dominates, and so that everyone is heard.<\/p>\n What was the outcome of the meeting? Did folks agree to do some kind of follow up? People, deadlines, and activities should be circulated ASAP before folks forget what they committed to do.<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t make \u201cThe 5 Things\u201d happen, POSTPONE THE MEETING.<\/strong><\/p>\n Do not waste your time or the time of your group. The more often you do that, the less happy your employees or board members will be. Keep it up and you will lose them.<\/p>\n Use questions to spur the right kind of conversation.<\/strong><\/p>\nFOUR TELLTALE SIGNS YOU ARE IN A BAD MEETING<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
THE 2 KINDS OF MEETINGS<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Standing Meetings<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Specific Problem Solving Meetings<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
THE 5 THINGS EVERY GOOD MEETING MUST HAVE\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
1) A Reason<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
2) An Agenda Crafted By All Participants<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
3) Everyone Participates<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
4) An Invested Meeting Chair<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
5) Action Items Circulated the Same Day<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
TWO BONUS PIECES OF ADVICE<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n