Are you going from meeting to meeting? If you spend half your time or more in meetings then the question is really does it have to be that way? In general I expect it's fair to say that the bigger the company the more meetings you will have to go to. This is not a bad thing by itself since many processes and systems are complex. Therefore it is necessary to have meetings because in these meetings you can
- get everyone on the same page quickly instead of meeting with everyone separately
- you can get creative feedback from others to come up with a better solution
- use the opportunity to motivate team members
- build a team spirit
- save time
- and establish a leader
Now that is the case if everything runs smooth which is rarely the case, in most companies anyway. Many meetings are demotivating and in general seem like a waste of time. Based on my experience this is related to
- There is no clear Agenda for the meeting
- There is no clear objective for the meeting
- some people talk too much
- some people complain too much
- some people just like to shine (e.g. with knowledge that nobody can follow)
- no content leadership from the meeting organizer
This leads to many unhappy meeting participants. Now the question is what should you do to make this better. I think you should really think before you setup a meeting. Can the topic/issue be addressed by a face-to-face meeting, a phone call or a video conference with one person? Can you maybe address the question/topic yourself? If you have to have a meeting with a group it is essential to
- Setup an agenda for the meeting. How much time do you need for your meeting? Think about using a meeting cost calculator to see the high level cost for your meeting. Present the Agenda at the beginning of the meeting to ensure everyone understands what is expected.
- Setup a meeting objective. What do you want to get out of this meeting? Who is supposed to provide what?
- Which attendees do you need? Make sure you do not have every function twice or more. You are looking for accountability and that works better with 1 person.
- What pre-conditions need to be addressed before you can have the meeting?
- How can you make the meeting more interesting and memorable? If you always do the same things (e.g. presenting PowerPoints) it gets boring.
- Attention seems to decrease after 30-40 minutes (e.g. especially on phone conferences). So think about planning for short breaks.
Focus on your area of influence instead of trying to change others. You are responsible for your meetings and should review what works and what doesn't work in your meetings on a regular basis. A positive example will inspire others.
