How To Get The Most Out Of Your Meetings
Recently I came across a post on LinkedIn from Kristin Cummings asking for help on how to fix an issue where a bunch of people contribute unnecessary feedback, just because they want to make sure their voice is in the conversation. This can be a frustrating and unproductive situation, also leading to disengagement among the team.
If your experiencing this same issue, there are several factors that could be contributing to it:
Unclear roles
Insecure leaders
A culture of confusion
Too many people on one project
Personal insecurities
A lack of real responsibility or boredom
Here are a few things that I found helpful to fix this problem:
Only focus on issues that impede progress.
Create a space for parking lot items that can be discussed later. This can be an actual sticky note or white board in the meeting room.
Identify individual conversations that should happen outside of the meeting.
Provide structure for the meeting with a pre-set agenda that is shared with everyone ahead of time.
Limit the number of stakeholders present. Too many people in the room causes confusion.
Ask participants to come prepared to discuss their portion of the project and identify any roadblocks that they could use help with and why.
Appoint one person to run the meeting and take notes. They can act as a timekeeper and keep conversations moving.
Address nitpicking in a professional manner to keep the focus on improving the project, rather than just pointing out flaws or rehashing conversations.
Follow up with nitpickers individually afterward to understand what’s motivating this type of behavior so you can work on addressing it in the future.
Create a safe space where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions.
Let’s delve deeper into some guidelines that create an effective agenda:
Define the purpose of the meeting and what you hope to accomplish.
Decide who needs to be there and what roles they will play.
Create an outline with clear topics and timeframes for each topic.
Send the agenda out ahead of time so people can prepare.
Start and end the meeting on time, and stick to the agenda as much as possible.
Leave time at the end for questions and discussion.
Identify next steps, owners, and prioritize tasks based on low effort, high value.
If your team is unfamiliar with this work style and you’re trying to promote inclusivity, consider starting with an icebreaker. If you’re not a fan of activities like sharing your favorite music or playing two truths and a lie, opt for something more business-oriented to make it more relatable.
Here are two tips to create a positive atmosphere and encourage team ownership during meetings:
Ask each team member to share one accomplishment they are proud of and what is going well. Celebrate these successes!
Use a poll or emojis to gauge the team’s energy and adjust accordingly.
As someone who is passionate about helping organizations realize their full potential and gain more time through meaningful work, I am here to help you. Contact me if you need assistance with running efficient meetings or aligning your team’s purpose.