The mention of meetings can cause a visceral, gut-level reaction in even the toughest of managers. Who doesn’t have tales to tell of The Meeting that Wouldn’t End; The Pointless, Recurring Meeting; or The Who’s in Charge Meeting? For many professionals, the feeling of spending too much time around a table instead of in the trenches can cause anxiety and a lack of focus that makes those same meetings even less productive. But like it or not, meetings are a reality in the workplace, so the question we must ask ourselves is, How can we improve meetings and use them to our best advantage?
Business Coach Bruce Eckfeldt recommends taking a few key steps in advance in order to keep your meeting on track.
Finally, the coaching pros offer a reminder that the boss serves as an example. If you are the head honcho, then follow the rules and be timely. If a protocol is established and modeled, then there’s a much better chance of success company-wide. As Bruce Eckfeldt reminds us, “a fish stinks from the head,” so be the example. Meeting adjourned.
While some meetings are nothing more than weekly placeholders that seem to go nowhere, others try to be ultra-meetings and take on too much. Writing for Inc., Alison Davis recommends focusing on your desired outcomes and limiting them to one to three.
She gives a thumbs-up to the following reasons to hold a meeting:
More: Davis recommends allotting one-third of the meeting time to interactive discussion. She distinguishes this from someone monopolizing the proceedings or who asks for questions without creating inroads for conversation. Do the legwork in advance so that meetings can be an exchange of ideas that spur action. That’s worth talking about.
Tip: Use the “parking lot” concept to indicate a space to put topics that need to be discussed but are not central to the focus of the current meeting. This allows for items to be set aside, with an agreed upon time to revisit them. But be aware: if the parking lot becomes more like purgatory, you’ll need to find a different option.