Optimise meetings to a ‘T’

Brian Eagar | CEO | TowerStone | mail me |

Are your meetings about TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) or would the T in your meeTing stand for T-E-D-I-O-U-S?  

Research shows that about a third of time spent in meetings is considered unproductive. The most common complaints are that meetings are inconclusive, poorly prepared for and disorganised. In short, it seems like most meetings are disruptive and a costly waste of time that devours productivity at an alarming pace. I sometimes put it this way – meetings are for taking minutes and wasting hours. But this doesn’t have to be the norm.

So, what can you do to make sure that every opportunity for collaboration meets your needs to a T? Train it – teach that old dog some new tricks.

Here is what I suggest you do to curb some of the bad habits that have been flourishing in your meeting rooms:

• Time waits for no-one – Respect everyone’s time by starting on the dot and finishing on or before the scheduled time.
• Outlaw the mobile device – Although many say that they use their phone, tablet or laptop to take notes, statistics show that most people either do other work or daydream during meetings. There is no way to know whether someone is recording next actions or browsing Pinterest.
• Keep it short – Don’t underestimate what can be done in 30 minutes if you remain focused. Many default to scheduling one-hour meetings when it’s rarely necessary. Consider sticking to the rule of three solid agenda points and focus on resolving only those with clear next actions.
• Stand rather than sit – What better way to keep everyone on their toes? You are much less likely to veer of topic or daydream when you can’t disappear into your seat.
• Let the agenda govern who you invite – Don’t frustrate team members by inviting them to meetings where their presence isn’t crucial. Have you ever tried adding up the salary cost of your meetings? Go ahead and be prepared for a shock.
• Listen to who you have invited – Make sure that everyone in the meeting is heard and really listen when someone else speaks. Research done by Social Psychologist Dolly Chugh, shows that how meetings are conducted is key to developing a culture of inclusivity. Be wary of unconscious bias that may creep into meetings that could allow the best ideas to go unnoticed.

Don’t allow your meetings to go to waste. We all know that time is valuable and a meeting swallows up an average of nine people’s time all at once. Not only does this eat into productivity and profits but, more importantly, it also inhibits your culture. If people feel frustrated by and excluded in meetings, this significantly hampers team morale and collaboration.

On the other hand, if you use meetings effectively to make the right decisions with the right input, establish clear direction and boost inclusivity, they can be the powerful tool they were intended to be.