The Dreaded Meeting

Have you ever heard someone say to you at work, "I have a meeting this morning and I can't wait to go!"? You are most likely to be struck by lightening than hearing these words. The fact of the matter is, many meetings are poorly planned, lack constructive interaction, never start or end on time, and lack follow up items to be completed with solid deadlines. Many times those that are being invited don't know why they are there and what is expected of them. These skills aren't born with us, we have to learn them. Yet, there are few companies who offer meeting management skills. Its just expected that employees have these skills.

What can meeting leaders do to assure a constructive meeting? Here are just a few tips:

Before the Meeting. Make sure that those that are coming are clear on why they were invited and what they can contribute. If it's a meeting to assemble a business team to work on a project or resolve a work issue, approach the team member and their boss face-to-face (preferably) and explain why the team member's expertise is needed and how much of their time will be needed for the project.

• Create an agenda with objectives of the meeting and the items to be addressed. Set clear expectations on how much time is allotted for each item on the agenda. Plan a 10 minute "stretch" break if the meeting is to last more than three hours. Make sure that this agenda is sent out to those that are attending a week in advance.

• Include in your meeting plan ways that you can engage the attendees in the topics that are being discussed. Limit the amount of time the meeting leader will be talking--their purpose is to lead the meeting and facilitate the discussion, not be the sole contributor. Use brainstorming to get others to contribute ideas to the meeting topic. If this is an ongoing team project meeting, ask a member of the team to volunteer to facilitate the next meeting (with the team leaders' guidance).

• Address any road blocks or hidden agendas with individuals separately before the meeting.
  

• Create meaningful flip charts to use during your meeting. Don't leave it up to chance that this will happen during the meeting because you know it never does!
  

During the Meeting. Bring copies of the agenda and start on time. If you are still missing attendees,  they will arrive shortly and will learn very quickly to show up on time at the next meeting. Review verbally what will be discussed and provide an opportunity for attendees to introduce themselves. Ask all attendees to turn off their electronic devices if possible, at minimum have them place them on vibrate. Assure the attendees that there will be a break for them to address any pressing issues.

• As a meeting leader, make sure that you are practicing good listening skills. Summarize what you heard and ask the attendee if that was correct. Give positive feedback when you can to encourage more discussion. Make sure to take good notes on what is being said and who's committing to do what in order to help you plan for the followup meeting.
• Set constructive ground rules for meeting engagement. For example: respect confidentiality, avoid squelching others ideas prematurely, give everyone a chance to speak, and no side conversations.
  
• Establish a "parking lot" for issues that come up during the meeting that weren't part of the meeting discussion to be addressed separately off-line.

After the Meeting: Follow up immediately with the minutes of the meeting and date and outline for the next meeting. Make sure that all attendees of the meeting understand what they committed to and when it's due. Ask for feedback from the attendees on the meeting and how it can be improved. Follow up with the attendees on the recommendations and what will be implemented to make it a better meeting.

Meeting management skills are valuable skills that every employee can use. If you are interested on coaching your employees on effective meeting management skills, I would recommend the book "101 Ways to Make a Meeting Active" by Mel Silberman. I'm sure there are other great ones out there and this is a good start!