Meetings and How to Deal With Them

How often have you sat in a meeting wondering why you are there and wishing you were somewhere else? Maybe back at your desk getting some work done?

There is no excuse for holding or attending expensive, pointless and frustrating meetings. Either the meeting itself can be avoided by accomplishing the objective some other way or the meeting can be reorganised to minimise the expense and maximum the returns

Whether you are calling the meeting or have "been called" to attend one, your time will be spent much more effectively if you understand the specific objective of the meeting. Unfortunately, many meetings are called without a specific objective. People simply meet out of habit or custom or because they feel it is appropriate.

It is perfectly acceptable to ask "What are we hoping to accomplish here today?" or "How will we know if this meeting has been successful?"

Examples of successful objectives:
· To brainstorm solutions to a problem
· To take a "checkpoint" on status when there are many inter-dependencies
· There is an actual piece of work that can be best produced by several people with different expertise
· To kick off or wrap up a project and ensure that everyone involved understands the implications

No need for un-necessary meeting!!

When not to have meetings

· When dealing with personnel issues like hiring, firing, negotiating salaries or dealing with disciplinary and corrective actions
· When there is inadequate data or poor preparation, it is more acceptable to reschedule than to "fake it"
· The information can be communicated better by other means, ie e-mail, telephone, memo, intranet or one-2-one discussions
· The subject matter is confidential
· Your mind is made up or you've already arrived at a decision
· The subject is not important enough to justify everyone's time
· There is to much anger or hostility in the group and people need time to calm down before they can collaborate effectively.

Have the Right People (and the Right Number) in the Room

The right people are determined by the meeting's objective. Who needs to be directly involved in the task at hand? Who can be informed later?

Generally speaking, every person in the room must have an absolute need to be there. Each person added to the meeting adds to the amount of time it takes to communicate circumstances, arrive at mutually acceptable decisions, and move along the agenda.

Each person invited to the meeting should understand his or her role or expected contribution. Typically, we invite people that we "think should be there" but we don't really give much thought to why we want them there or what we want that person to do. Decide in advance what roles need to filled to ensure you reach your objective and then determine the best person to fill that role.

Stick to the Point
When issues are brought up, by participants in meetings, it is important to capture them. One of the main benefits of meetings is the synergy and creative thought that happens when people get together to discuss issues from several sides. However, getting sidetracked makes you less likely to get your objective accomplished in the amount of time you've set aside.

Capture "side items" in the minutes, or set an action item for someone to take responsibility to ensure the "side item" is taken care of.

Follow Rules of Dialogue

Having a simple, agreed-to "rules of dialogue" and having a person who is entrusted to ensure it is followed removes an element of fear and frees up the meeting to get work done in the absence of hostility and frustration.

Evaluate Your Meetings and Change to Fit Your Needs

You can do this formally, by passing out a survey form at the end of the meeting, or informally, by simply asking the question- "Did everyone get what they wanted (or needed) out of this session? How can we make the next one better?"

Finally

Meetings don't have to be frustrating, vague, hostile, and ineffective. By putting some time and effort into preparing for them and considering the factors in this article, you may actually find yourself looking forward to them! The people invited to them may not admit it right away, but they may find themselves looking forward to them, too!