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Top 10 Reasons Meetings Fail
We have all participated in a bad meeting. The good meetings seem to really stand out because we are so use to bad ones. So, what makes a bad meeting?
Read below for my top ten list of reasons why meetings fail:
- Getting off track
- Inconclusive with no results, decision, assignments or follow-up
- No goals, purpose or agenda
- Too long
- Ineffective leadership; disorganized
- Poor or inadequate preparation
- Information overload; unfocused or irrelevant information
- Individuals monopolize conversations
- Interruptions
- Starts late
So let me give you a few tips and tools from my facilitative tool box to eliminate or reduce the number of meetings that waste your time.
- Leadership- the leader must understand the type of meeting that is necessary for the task at-hand. If the task is strategic in nature, there must be only one or two items on the agenda and enough time to make good decisions, i.e., usually four hours. If the meeting is for tactical issues and is held once per week, then an agenda is set with estimated time and outcomes expected, i.e., decision, discussion etc.
- Group Memory- I recommend using several flipchart pages stuck on the wall and they cover the following topics; decisions made, discussion, parking lot, next agenda, action items. Having paper on the wall and using markers allows every member to see what is going on at the same time.
- Flipchart Recorder- this person will need to capture ideas on the flipchart as they are said and not use their own interpretation of what was said. They do not need to know how to spell correctly but they should be able to keep up with the pace of decisions being made and write legibly.
- Time Keeper- during the tactical weekly meetings there should be time allotted to each item on the agenda. This will help the leader see if the agenda is too packed and to eliminate those less urgent items. When there are five minutes left on the agenda item the time keeper holds up their five fingers and the leader must either table the item for a future date, continue on if the group agrees to the relevance of the item or bump off another item on the agenda to make more time.
- Parking Lot- this is the heading of a flipchart page that captures ideas that are brought up during the meeting and are important to the team but not relevant to the moment. It lets the team know that important ideas will be captured but not allow them to get the team off- track.
- Group Norms- this is a list of acceptable and unacceptable behavior for the team members to exhibit when debating and making decisions. Once the list is created by the team, each member along with the leader, can call out behavior that is happening that is unacceptable and ask that it stop.
By using just one of these tips mentioned above, you will be on your way to finding meetings a more pleasant and productive experience.
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Diane Amundson is the owner of Diane Amundson & Associates. She works with organizations that want to improve communication so they become more productive. She has been training, speaking and consulting for over nineteen years in the areas of leadership, generational diversity, team building, conflict resolution and strategic planning. She has worked with Fortune 500 Companies like General Mills and Pepsi Cola along with numerous school districts in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She has co-authored a book titled Success Strategies: A High Achiever's Guide to Success. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and has served as Adjunct Professor of Organizational Behavior at Winona State University.
She is a Rotarian that has traveled the world on humanitarian projects in Mongolia, India and Brazil.
Her style of speaking is informative and highly interactive.
Diane Amundson & Associates
Phone: (507)452-2232 Fax:(507)452-0090
24456 County Road 9 Winona, MN 55987 |
