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Planning Meetings: Making Broccoli Delicious ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meetings sometimes start on a bad foot as participants expend an inordinate amount of time covering information that could have been covered prior to the meeting. Expending this unproductive time can create frustration and confusion among meeting participants, dampen their enthusiasm and willingness to participate and inhibit the achievement of the Desired Results.
Meeting Preparation requirements should be included in the calendar notification of the meeting or quickly follow the notification. Including preparation in the calendar notification will depend on the amount of preparation required. Just like long memos, people do not enjoy meeting notifications packed with a lot of information. Preparation could include requests to:
- Gather facts or other information that will be required to achieve the Desired Results.
- Review follow-up notes or minutes from previous meetings.
- Review individual commitments to ensure that participants can commit to executing the actions that will be required as a result of the meeting.
- Identify issues and concerns that may evolve during the meeting. Meeting leader should ask participants to be prepared to offer ideas and options to address the issues and concerns they identify. This can eliminate discussions or concerns that are not related to the achievement of the Desired Results. (Individuals will be reluctant to raise irrelevant issues if they believe that they will be asked to provide options or ideas to address the issues.)
Communication of the roles that individual participants will serve in the meeting (decider, subject matter expert, supporter, influencer) will set individual expectations and help participants prepare for the meeting.
It is frustrating when the Desired Results are not achieved due to a lack of time allocated for the meeting. Participants can also become annoyed if meetings last longer than scheduled. Duration of meetings can be estimated by:
- Preparing an agenda that includes each task that will be accomplished during the meeting.
- Starting each agenda task with an action verb (decide, complete, reach agreement, establish, etc.). Action verbs focus efforts.
- Estimating the amount of time required for each task. This should include the identification and discussion of options as well as reaching a decision.
- Allowing time to establish the actions that will be required as a result of the meeting.
- Allowing time to summarize and clarify meeting results.
- Building in a contingency if agenda items take longer than estimated. I recommend a contingency of 10-20% depending on the complexity of the items on the agenda.
Establishing meeting rules at the beginning of the meeting will also help meeting leaders conduct meetings within the scheduled time. Meeting rules could include:
- How decisions will be made.
- How input will be solicited from participants.
- Scope of the meeting. (what the meeting will not address, a subtle way of communicating that the meeting will adhere to the agenda)
Decisions can be reached by agreement or consensus. Agreement means that everyone will follow the letter of the law. Consensus means that individuals may not agree wholeheartedly with the decisions, but will support the decisions.
How decisions are made can also include the number of participants who will be required to agree or consent (everyone, majority, etc.).
People are usually pleasantly surprised when meeting do not last as long as scheduled and can be annoyed when meetings last longer than scheduled. Ending your meetings on time increases the enthusiasm of invitees to participate in your meetings.
Timing includes the communication of optional meeting times to the person scheduling the meeting for you (administrative assistant, etc.). Prioritize options so that the person does not have to ask you for guidance on several occasions if participants have schedule conflicts during the optional times that you provide. (Administrative assistants like this because it gives them the feeling that they can accomplish your requests without coming back to you for guidance.)
Time of day can also impact the success of a meeting. For example, decisions tend to be reached in meetings scheduled to end just before lunch time. (Hunger becomes your ally.) Meetings requiring extensive discussions and deliberations may not be effective immediatley following a meal. Some individuals can be sluggish immediately following a meal.
Planning Facilities & Equipment may sound trivial. However, scheduling a meeting in a conference room that cannot comfortably accommodate the participants nor have the required equipment in place and operational at the start of the meeting can irritate participants and dampen their enthusiasm to participate.
Just like broccoli provides essential nutrients, meetings serve a key role in managing and conducting business. Through effective planning, meetings can be effective and enjoyable. You can make your broccoli recipe delicious.
Linwood Bailey
Principal
Fields of Success
Career Management Partners |
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