{"id":596792,"date":"2024-03-27T09:26:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T13:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/?p=596792"},"modified":"2024-03-19T21:29:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T01:29:42","slug":"fire-your-meetings-refuel-your-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/fire-your-meetings-refuel-your-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Fire Your Meetings, Refuel Your Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My coaching client seemed breathless. I noted some clock-watching. Tried not to take it personally and worked to keep him present in the discussion we were having. Based on his behavior, it seemed like maybe we were having the wrong conversation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I pivoted. Can we talk about your calendar for the day? Maybe we should chat about how you are using your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He puts his head in his hands. \u201cI started at 8:30 and will go straight through until about 7 pm with no white space. At all. No time to get any real work done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My client is a smart guy and knows that a day with back-to-back meetings is not a recipe for success and can be a fast pass to burnout. I wasn\u2019t going to tell him he needed more white space on his calendar. He knew that already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I asked him a simple question. I asked him to scan his meetings in real time with me and tell me which ones he was truly looking forward to, intellectually stimulating meetings. Would any meetings present opportunities for creative or generative thinking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat quietly and it took him less than 5 minutes. None he said. No waffling. None of the meetings would be fueling my client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so today I want to introduce you to a new way to look at your calendar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOT EVERY MEETING IS THE BEST USE OF YOUR TIME<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with that premise. As a nonprofit leader, you have many diverse sets of responsibilities. That results in a lot of different kinds of meetings. I don\u2019t have to list them for you – you can just look at your calendar and see them for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But time management<\/a> is key. Do I believe you should leave a minimum of 30 minutes between meetings? To process the meeting you had, to get present for the next meeting, and maybe to use the facilities?  Absolutely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do I also think that there should be a half day or even a full day each week without meetings – for processing, writing, considering possibilities, and untangling a big knot? I do. And I encourage my clients to do just that. I believe with all my heart that if you don\u2019t slow down, it is really, really hard to think big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIRE YOUR MEETINGS!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stay with me. This is the important point: all meetings are not created equally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s go back to my client. He was going to be in back-to-back meetings and not a single one of them was going to fire him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the day, he would be out of gas. And by the end of the week, he would be toast<\/a>.  And \u201ctoast people\u201d do not give the organization the best they have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked him to do an exercise and I\u2019m asking you to do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A TOOL TO REFUEL YOUR LEADERSHIP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Try this process. Take 30 minutes on a Friday afternoon and look at your calendar for the coming week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a scale of (-10) to (+10) with zero being neutral, rate each meeting as if your head and your heart were a gas tank. Rate each meeting based on the amount of fuel you believe the meeting put into your tank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A positive 10 is an incredibly engaging meeting. Great ideas are going to flow, you plan to work together to find a creative solution to a problem, and you are brainstorming a new idea for how to deliver a program at a lower cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A negative 10 is the exact opposite. The meeting will totally drain your tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your meeting calendar should have a mix of ratings BUT you want to shoot for at least 50% of them having positive numbers, preferably higher than +5.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how you will keep sufficient gas in your tank to do hard work well. This is how you will set yourself up to have a good week. Without a good number of refueling meetings, you will run out of gas. And your clients, your cause, and the community you serve can\u2019t afford an executive director who is out of gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BEFORE YOU ACCEPT, ASSESS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you accept the next meeting, think carefully about the meetings that you see will deplete you and ask yourself these questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n