Want It Done Right Journal 4Q 2009

Feature Article • Delegation Dr Daily Dose • Corner Crack-up • Want It Done Right Products & Services

Feature Article

Making the Most of Meetings

Most of us know the fundamentals of effective meeting management. Unfortunately meeting inefficiency still permeates our organizations. Just mention the word “meeting” to anyone and you’ll hear a reflexive groan. Maybe our meeting habits are similar to our eating habits. We know what a good meeting and a good diet consist of; we just don’t always follow the basics. But like a good diet, meetings can be very healthy and productive if they’re managed well. So here’s a refresher course to maximize meeting effectiveness:

Clearly define the purpose of the meeting. Too many meetings, especially weekly meetings, have no clear purpose. As a result no one really understands why the meeting is being held. When the purpose is unclear the meeting discussion meanders and little gets accomplished. Everyone ends up feeling like the meeting was a waste of precious time. It is the responsibility of the person running the meeting to define the purpose for bringing everyone together. Here are some questions to help clarify the purpose of a meeting:

What is the desired outcome?
What must be accomplished?
If the meeting was a huge success what would the outcomes be?
Is there more than one purpose for the meeting? If so, how can transitions be made in a way that everyone is clear the purpose has changed?

Determine the type of meeting that best accomplishes the purpose. There are several types of meetings. Clarifying the type of meeting can be tremendously effective in focusing people on the task at hand. Below are the different types of meetings, what they are designed to accomplish and the role of participants:

Planning – the outcome of this type of meeting is an action plan. Everyone participates in creating the plan and accepting action items to pursue.
Problem Solving – the purpose is to solve a problem or problems. All participants are active in reaching the best solution and how to implement it.
Decision Making – the outcome is a decision. Participants may or may not be involved in the decision. For example, a project team may call a meeting to get a decision from senior management on a preferred course of action.
Informational – the purpose is to share information. Information shared may be to participants, from participants or in both directions.
Combination – a meeting involving one or more of the above. The transition from one type of meeting to another should be clearly communicated along with any expected changes to the role of participants.

Determine the critical attendees. In order to accomplish the purpose of the meeting it is imperative that the proper people be in attendance. Meetings often come to a screeching halt because someone whose input was required is not present. This oversight wastes everyone‘s time. If a required person cannot attend, reschedule the meeting when he can attend or assign a proxy. If the meeting purpose and type change through the course of the meeting or from one meeting to the next, the attendance roster should change accordingly. Meetings can also get sidetracked when people attend who should not be there. The bottom line is that only people whose participation is necessary should be in attendance in the meeting.

Outline a clear agenda – and stick to it! Outline the agenda well in advance of the meeting and distribute it to invited participants. Clarify any preparation required of participants ahead of time. In the meeting, keep discussions from getting sidetracked. Many a meeting runs long because the person conducting the meeting does not keep the discussion focused on the task at hand. If meeting management is not the forte of the person conducting the meeting, delegate that role to someone who is effective at it.

Determine the timeframe for the meeting. Once the agenda has been outlined, timeframes for each agenda item can be set. Tallying the time for each agenda item will provide a good estimate of the total timeframe required for the meeting. In the meeting identify a time monitor (someone who keeps track of the time) to ensure each agenda item discussed is covered within the timeframe allotted to it. If the item can’t get resolved in the time allotted to it, table it to another meeting date and move on to the next item. Start and end the meeting on time. If people are late, start without them. (If your culture is such that all meetings start late, it is best to let everyone know when the agenda gets published that it will start on time whether or not people are present. Once this occurs a time or two and latecomers have to walk into a meeting in full swing, they’ll be more likely to be on time.)

Summarize the accomplished outcomes and next steps. Reiterating the conclusions drawn – decisions made, problems solved, plans outlined, information shared – and what will happen next is a great way to ensure everyone leaves with the same conclusions and the feeling that something was actually accomplished in the time spent. It’s also a great way to acknowledge people’s participation and thank them for spending their valuable time. These small closing gestures can make meetings more of a pleasure than a pain.

Start the next meeting with the closing information of the previous meeting. Initiating a meeting with a follow-up on action items from the previous meeting is a great way to keep people updated and in the loop as well as to acknowledge work done between meetings. Starting with these action items helps transition people’s attention from where work left off to where it needs to pick up again. This is a helpful segue to focus attention on the new task at hand.

Process versus content shifts to uphold productive “rules of conduct.” The seven steps above will greatly enhance meeting effectiveness, but there is one more step to cover that is often the most significant reason for ineffective meetings— participant behavior (or misbehavior). With cell phones ringing, PDAs pinging, people coming in late and leaving early, sidebar conversations, it’s a wonder that anything gets done in meetings! While some groups have established rules of conduct such as “turn off cell phones” and “arrive on time” they often don’t hold participants accountable to these rules. Once one person tests the rules it’s an open invitation for everyone else to do the same.

To get meetings back on track establish (or reiterate) the meeting rules. This may need to occur at the beginning of every meeting for a while. With newly formed team meetings, it is helpful to get everyone’s input and buy-in to what the rules should be. Once the rules have been established it’s imperative to hold participants accountable to them. In team meetings this should be every participant’s responsibility as well as that of the leader. Doing process checks through the course of meetings can be a powerful way to remind participants of the rules. To shift from meeting content to meeting process, simply pose a question to the entire group like, “Let’s do a process check. How are we doing with upholding our meeting ground rules?” This can be particularly effective when people are engaging in behaviors that are not consistent with the rules that have been set.
These checks can also be helpful with not-so-apparent rules such as “everyone participates” or “disagree in the room, not outside of it”. When people’s nonverbal behavior screams that they disagree or are checked out questions again can be very powerful. If someone appears checked out, feed back their behavior followed by a question, “Sam, you seem to be somewhere else, what’s going through your mind on this issue?” If someone is not participating ask, “Samantha, we haven’t heard from you on this topic, what are your thoughts? Appropriate behaviors in meetings can gain huge payoffs in the value of meeting outcomes. It is everyone’s responsibility to be fully present and engaged.

Most organizations do not measure the time spent in meetings. Imagine the salary per hour for every attendee for every meeting and how that stacks up against what is actually accomplished. The old adage, “Time is money” certainly fits here yet few organizations look at the time wasted in meetings in general and in ineffective meetings in particular. Unnecessary meetings, inappropriate people in attendance, lack of focus on outcomes, too few meetings on the front end of projects when the most can go wrong, too many meetings on the back end of projects when things are completed and disengaged and disruptive meeting behaviors are all huge frustrations and time-wasters. And we haven’t even touched on the incredible waste of time in just scheduling and rescheduling meetings! Giving adequate thought and preparation to ensure meetings are effectively designed and executed will result in fewer and more productive meetings. Like a good diet, ensuring that meetings follow the recommendations outlined above will save everyone time, energy, money and heartburn.

Corner Crack-up

A businessman asked the loan officer

of a New York City bank for a $5,000 loan for a two week business trip. The loan officer said the bank required security for such a loan. The business man handed over the keys to his Rolls Royce. The loan officer accepted the car as collateral for the loan once everything checked out and an employee parked the Rolls in the bank's underground garage.

Two weeks later the businessman returned,repaid the $5,000 and the interest which came to $15.00. The loan officer said, "We appreciate your business but we are a bit puzzled by this transaction. In processing your loan we found you are a multimillionaire. Why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"

The business man replied: "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for fifteen bucks?"

Delegation Doctor’s Daily Dose

Has our “feel good” culture led to fewer people feeling good? Perhaps the trite saying, “If it feels good do it!” should come with a warning label: “Caution! Engaging in these behaviors may result in serious injury or death!” Perhaps it should have also come with additional instructions: Engage in these behaviors only to the extent that they do not infringe on the personal rights and freedoms of others.”

How can we reverse this tendency toward self-absorption? Maybe we can consider a few other sayings to guide us in the right direction:

Here come da judge. How quick we are to judge others —as if we have everything figured out in our own lives! When we judge we impose our values and beliefs on others. We’re often judging with limited information; we have only a small portion of the whole picture. If we’re so adept at judging others, why not start with ourselves? What yardstick would we use and how would we measure up? While judging others may make us feel powerful it certainly doesn’t make others feel good. Rather than judging, seek to understand. Rather than trying to one-up, seek a level playing field. Human relationships are not a zero-sum, win/lose game. A win/win approach helps everyone feel good. Leveraging our strengths and those of others can profit us all.

What have you done for me lately? We’re so busy thinking about what others - our spouses, friends, coworkers, the government, etc. – can do for us we forget about what we can do for them. A surefire way to feel good is to help others. Think of how much better off we’d be if we were as quick to help others as we are to help ourselves! When we give we feel good and so do those who receive our gifts.

It’s not all about you! Thankfully it’s not all about you! Thinking it is will lead to a very lonely place indeed. In conversations alone, it seems blathering on about ourselves has become the norm. We’ve forgotten the give-and-take in basic human interaction. Since when have our lives become so interesting that all we can talk about is ourselves? Engaging with others enriches our lives and theirs. Engaging means allowing both people the opportunity to give and take. Engaging leads to genuine human contact that leaves both people feeling good.

Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. It seems these days, busy hands are the devil’s workshop! Do we have a cultural addiction to cell phones and PDAs? In meetings, in restaurants, in restrooms, in church —no place is sacred. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to talk with someone whose face is buried in one of these devices or trying to maneuver your car around someone trying to work the tiny keypads. These gadgets seem to be robbing us of not only interpersonal skills but common human decency and safety. That certainly does not feel good! Let’s put away the PDA and give others the consideration of our attention. Surely whatever just landed in our inbox is not going to bring about World War III before the end of the dinner conversation. Being present with people helps everyone feel good. Being a safer driver would also be highly appreciated!

I can’t get no respect! Rodney Dangerfield wasn’t the only one who couldn’t get respect. Mutual respect has gone down the proverbial toilet. All of the behaviors outlined above reek of disrespect —not only of others but of ourselves. What happened to our manners? If we want respect we must behave in ways that earn it. A good way to start is to be respectful of others.

Start with the man in the mirror. It’s very easy for us to focus on the errors in the ways of others and all the changes they should make. How good we are at figuring out everyone else’s problems! Unfortunately we’re not as good at figuring out our own. The truth of human dynamics is that all of our relationships involve a system. This means that we’re all like cogs in a wheel. So the best thing we can do if we want anything to change is to change ourselves. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what we change, only that we change. Anything, any small behavior, can “unstick” the system and get the wheels rolling again. So if you don’t like what’s happening around you, rather than griping, look in the mirror. If you feel that passionately about something, start with one small thing you can do to change it. Go ahead, make that change!

Instances of bad behavior flood the media. From disrespectfully blurting out defamatory remarks to inadvertently taped indecent conversations to rudely interrupting people’s moments of honor to foul language to kids running and screaming rampantly in public settings, our acceptance of misbehavior continues to lower our expectations of and engagement in good behavior. It’s as though events like these give permission for everyone to behave badly. And the attention we get and give for bad behavior only fuels the fire. The result is that none of it feels very good. Maybe it’s time to return to the roots of etiquette, respect and good will to help us all feel better about ourselves and each other. It is within and upon each of us to accept our responsibility as one cog in the wheel of this larger system. Start with small changes in ourselves, our homes, our jobs, and our communities. We can be the beacons of light that turn the behavioral tide from bad to good. As Gandhi so aptly put it, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

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