If you want to make team meetings more effective, fun and engaging places where results are delivered then you need to step back to see the wood for the trees.
There are a host of reasons why people have bad meetings. Having sat through some of the worst meetings, they can seem pointless, you learn nothing that’s helpful for your job and they are dominated by one or two voices. Despite wanting to contradict what they are saying you stay shtum, as you know that any interjection is just going to prolong the agony. Meetings that start and finish late, where the agenda is never fully covered and they get hijacked by an agenda item that sends everyone down a rabbit hole. Let’s face it we’ve all been there and the utter pointlessness leaves us sapped of energy and motivation!
In contrast, is the meeting where there is a flow of creativity, an energy, laughter. The agenda is covered, there is a sense of purpose and alignment being forged by the group. New ideas emerge and even if they aren’t going to change the world tomorrow you can leave feeling like you’ve had some fun, learnt something new, have purpose, clarity and a sense on comradery with fellow colleagues.
“Meetings are abound with rich information about power dynamics, social networks, organisational culture and effectiveness.”
Having been in and chaired many meetings, I can say that I have experienced and even contributed to both of the above types of meeting…. and everything in between. An important realisation for me was that meetings are not just functional or indeed not just social, they are the sum total of what everyone and everything brings to them. Meetings are abound with rich information about power dynamics, social networks, organisational culture and effectiveness. Most people observing a meeting would focus on it’s structure and key facilitators such as the chair. As a switched on manager and leader being able to step out and observe what is ‘the way this meeting is’ and what might it be telling us about the organisation, is a critical insight not just about the meeting culture but about the wider organisational dynamics. Ask yourself ‘what is this meeting telling me about how things get done around here?’.
Obviously, there can be lots of different reasons for a meeting and different types of meetings. Clearly that dictates the focus of the meeting but regardless of the meetings purpose, it is worth while paying attention to what is happening in the meeting. This can be tricky as we are so immersed in the experience, relationships and dynamics that seeing the wood for the trees can be hard! Below are my top 11 questions that any manager or leader should ask themselves about meetings in their organisation. Pick 2 key questions and in your next meeting observe what is happening, you might be surprised by what’s been under your nose all along:
- What was the surface purpose and what was the deeper impact?
- Is the purpose and focus clear?
- Are we having the right conversations and dialogue… if not, why not?
- Are the right people in the room?
- What story does this meeting tell someone about our organisational culture?
- How does leadership show up in the meetings and what’s it saying?
- How engaged is everyone, what lights them up and what are they leaving with?
- What‘s the physical space, how is it used and what’s the energy?
- How can we deepen the experience for everyone and who owns the meeting?
- Can we do it in half the time, with twice the effectiveness?
- What needs to go, what needs to stay and what needs to change?
I support managers and leaders to have ‘space to think’. From an organisational and team perspective, meetings are one of the crucial areas where this happens and yet so often it doesn’t. It’s easy for meetings to become rituals, with the same thinking just being recycled. If this has been helpful and you need some ‘space to think’ about how meetings can become the engines of change and growth in your organisation, then I might be able to help. Contact me for a no obligation chat and let’s see what happens.
Image: By Mapbox from Upsplash. With Thanks