Meeting Makeover
We have all been challenged over the last two years to alter the way we work. While this forced change created an impetus for many leaders to completely rethink their philosophy around how they work, others simply supplanted an in-person approach onto the cyberworld, included as many people as possible in emails, and forged ahead. At best, this slightly tweaked version is simply a revamp of what they thought worked before. The challenge is that approach is now layered onto a world where employees are searching for something different from their work and requiring a response from their leaders. Nothing may be more at the heart of this challenge than how we think about and approach our culture around meetings.
When was the last time you did a makeover on your meeting style and philosophy? I am not talking about the zoom filter you apply or the virtual background you use – I am talking about the way you prepare for, schedule, manage, and think about the purpose of any meeting. If you are still approaching meetings with the same reference frame you always had, it may be time to rethink and redesign this thought process.
One thing we know from research is that poor meeting culture has a negative effect on employee morale, productivity and ultimately satisfaction. In a highly competitive market to attract and retain employees, a meeting makeover has never been more important than now.
Meetings, like many processes both within organizations and our own style of thinking, are often steeped in legacy and habit. They happen the way they do because they have always happened that way. Intended to exchange information and move processes forward, we now live in a world where there is no shortage of information flow. In truth, we are often so overwhelmed with information - the challenge is what to pay attention to first.
Viewing legacy meeting culture through the lens of research that confirms a key value driving employee dissatisfaction during the “great resignation” is a desire for a higher level of autonomy, it becomes essential to dust off what a meeting should look like in 2022. Here are a few tips to help launch your reboot:
Be specific about purpose
What gets measured gets done and the purpose of a meeting is no different. Be very specific about what anyone attending the meeting should expect to leave with. Make your purpose drive your agenda by committing in writing what success will look like for this meeting. This may sound simple but how often do you have “touch bases” scheduled on your calendar?
Provide detailed information ahead of time
Set the expectation that everyone in attendance shows up informed and prepared to launch the discussion without the need to present details already provided. Launch with a general context setting, reconfirm the purpose, and invite discussions.
Be a guard dog
Ensure the agenda and discussion are in service to the purpose. When the inevitable tangent springs forward – stop it in its tracks. Better yet, create a culture where others are encouraged to stop it for and with you. This provides a culture of equal accountability across all levels of the team. Any off subject, great idea that warrants further discussion can be scheduled with eager anticipation – at another time.
Run on time
There is a misplaced conception among some leaders that being late to meetings and running over allotted time is to be expected because they are extremely busy, very important and it is impossible to control how long it might take them to share their ideas and move from one activity to another. The real impact of this very bad habit could not be more different. As a leader, starting on time and ending on time reinforces a culture of accountability and mutual respect. It demonstrates focus and efficiency and shows that you are in command of your work. Doing less than that sends a message that you do not respect the time and workloads of others. After all, they are sitting around waiting for you to do, what you said you would do, at a certain time. How important could they possibly be?
Be thoughtful of how much time things really take
If you know the specific purpose of the meeting, have provided the details ahead of time, how much time will it really take to complete your purpose? Just because your calendar defaults to one-hour meetings, do you really need an hour? Can you do it in 30 minutes? Often, if we have an hour, we take an hour. Think ahead and plan for efficiency. If you end early, celebrate, don’t elaborate. Don’t just fill the time because it is scheduled.
Have a check out
In the last few minutes of each meeting to reaffirm how you tracked to your purpose and commit to next steps. This is accountability. You said you needed to meet for a purpose – what did you accomplish against that goal?
This may all seem simple and logical, but the reality is many unhappy employees will site “wasted time in meetings” as a key factor in their job dissatisfaction. I have often heard the phrase “we have meetings to plan meetings to have meetings” uttered when asked what is most frustrating about their current work environment.
Making over your own personal meeting culture is the first step in facilitating organizational change. There is no better time than now. If you need just one thing to concentrate on initially - start with purpose. Before scheduling that next “touch base” be very specific about what you want to get out of that meeting and share it with anyone asked to attend. Make sure everything you do comes back to that. Purpose is a great grounding from which to move forward and build good habits.
What other tools and disciplines have you developed that are helping you to evolve as a leader in 2022? If you need support in rethinking how you work and what your work should mean to you, I would be happy to chat.
