Great Meetings Matter

When you bring a diverse group together in an attempt to gain alignment; share ideas; make decisions; set goals; and ultimately gain effective synergy — TOO often the efficiency factor is overlooked.

1 – Protocols

• A clear agenda included with the meeting invitation will:
  • Set expectations.
  • Facilitates previous action and decision review.
  • Enable participants to prioritize their participation appropriately.
  • Prompt preliminary conversations to elevate alignment.
• There is a degree of formality to awesome meetings that someone must own.
  • Who is facilitating the meeting? resolving conflicts? timekeeping?
  • Clear team/organizational decision making process?
  • A Scribe records actions and decisions in a transparent document.
    (OneNote for this)

2 – Information Alignment

• Do NOT use meetings to share excessive information.
  • This is an expensive approach.
  • Many need time to process new information & ideas.
  • Information overload is a major roadblock to progress: actions & decisions.
• DO send information in advance for participants to consume, process and consider.
  • Send access to information with meeting invitations.
  • Ensure a respectable amount of time prior to the meeting.
  • Set the expectation that all participants will have reviewed the information.

3 – Engagement of Team

• Protocols and Information Alignment lay the foundation.
• Effective meeting facilitation then drives team engagement
  • Sticking to the agenda (mostly)
  • Encouraging radical candor from all
  • Smoothing conflict
  • Clarifying unclear or incomplete issues
  • Asking questions to elevate alignment
• Striking the right cultural balance of professional, formal and even fun.

FOOTNOTE: Of course with the major shift to virtual meetings there are additional challenges. With the right protocols virtual meetings can be more efficient – with mastery of the technology.