In the last post, I briefly mentioned that having a purpose statement for the meeting could reduce the time it will take. That’s the focus aspect of planning, with the intent of staying on the predetermined topic and goal.
In our world, across the globe, no symbol is more ecumenically purposeful and meaningful than the bathroom sign. Everyone wants to know where it is in case they, or someone they know, needs it. That sign has a specific purpose, and is meaningful to a wide audience. This is what our meetings aspire to be. However…
There are different types of people who attend these meetings and each one will have a different goal. In a board meeting with treasurer, publicity, technical, administrative and secretarial staff present, you have each person interested in a different aspect of the meeting. Even stand-ups have a manager and sometimes a director attending along with developers and knowledge experts.
The purpose of the meeting should be distinct and focused. If everyone needs or wants to know the information that other departments provide, it should be stated what the expectations are. Perhaps the director wants to know how much a software upgrade costs and the developer wants to know if and when to expect that software to provide an estimated time of completion to the manager.
Often there are attendees who have little input and no interest in the rest of the meeting. The brief information they provide could be summed up in an email or a pre-recorded video presentation.
To make meetings more meaningful:
- Think of what you can provide that others cannot.
- It doesn’t have to be unique knowledge or abilities … it might be finding some time putting slides together when other members of the team cannot spare the time for it.
- Consider if what you provide has interest to other attendees.
- Put on a thinking cap and use your listening skills. Ask the other attendees if you’re unsure. Healthy teams want to improve the overall productivity and will be glad to help.
- Think of what you’d like from the other attendees.
- A favor to ask
- Information
- Opportunity request
- Remember that these meetings are give and take.
- Don’t spend too much time doing one or the other; Ideally, you want to sit on both sides. Otherwise there are better ways to achieve the goal than taking up other people’s time in meetings.
Meetings should be genuinely helpful in providing direction and cohesion to the team and its individuals. They are a critical element in the decision making process, and can be a form of team building. Making them more effective, impactful, timely, and meaningful saves money and frustration by increasing productivity and involvement.