Conquer Meeting Madness

We’re hearing again that people are struggling to get their work done because all of their time is spent in “useless” meetings…or Meeting Madness as we call it!

Meetings are supposed to be a means to success. Sadly though, they’ve become a time-suck that actually prevent people from making headway on their list of things to do.

But meetings can’t be all bad, can they? When done properly, they’re important and can do a lot to facilitate discussion, share information, inspire passion and commitment, and create a shared vision and plan.  

There are 4 key steps to take to make sure you’re having the right meetings. And to make sure that those meetings are as dynamic and productive as possible. 

1. Assessing What Meetings are Needed: There is a meeting formula that we encourage anyone who is tempted to call a meeting to use: A Good Meeting = The Right Reason (the purpose) at the Right Time with The Right People 
2. Creating a Winning Agenda: Agendas go a long way toward focusing the efforts, and therefore the outcome, of a meeting. Setting a good agenda takes time but it will make a huge difference in your ability to be productive.
3. Key Roles and Rules: By assigning key roles (like a time keeper and topic herder) and setting up some agreed-upon ground rules you can create meetings that run more efficiently.
4. Knowing What to do When Meetings Derail: Meetings derail (that’s just a fact of life) and it’s important to get them back on track as soon as you realize that the group is far from the intended agenda. 

Remember, the better your meetings are, the more engaged and collaborative the participants will be and the more time they will have to actually do the work that they need to accomplish.

Using people’s time wisely is not only smart, it’s a key leadership strategy. 

You’ve got this!