The Path to Effective Meetings

Clearing the Path for Change | Part 2

It is no secret that meetings have a bad rep. When you search for images of typical meetings it is not uncommon to see picture after picture of bored faces and heads on the table. If you want a real laugh, try searching for meeting memes.  

A meeting today, when not planned properly by the organizer, ends up reading like a bad screenplay where all the characters come together with boring explanatory dialogue that spells out the plot to the audience. In other words, it's lazy. We don't like watching movies like that, and we don't like being in meetings like that. So, if most of the time we should be getting things done with modern asynchronous collaboration methods, when are the times when a meeting is the best answer?

When to say yes to a meeting

Just because you can get the work done outside of meeting, doesn't mean you should. There are still valid reasons for meeting face-to-face with your colleagues. From the research I have done, along with my own personal experience, there are three situations when I recommend saying yes to meeting.

When you need some connection

A big part of working successfully with others is the ability to have real conversations. In her book, Radical Candor, Kim Scott writes about the importance of speaking truth to our colleagues. However, she also writes that truth spoken without caring for the person results in obnoxious aggression. Carving out time with our team to talk about things other than work lays a foundation for fruitful work-related conversations down the road. In addition to that big business benefit, even the most introverted among us know that we all need human connection.

When emotions might run high

When we communicate a message, how it is received is based on three factors: words, tone of voice, and body language. I've asked many audiences what percentage they think words matter. Most responses range from 20-50%, but FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss tell us that it is a measly 7%, with tone of voice affecting 38% of the message and body language making the biggest impact with 55%. Words do matter, and so when we need to say something that may be hard for someone to hear, using the right tone of voice and reading body language will have a bigger impact than we realize. When moments requiring radical candor arise, a face-to-face meeting will be well worth the time in your schedule.

When you need some magic

Yes, I did say magic. And no, I'm not talking about the kind produced by Harry Potter or Gandalf. The meeting magic I'm referring to is what happens when you have the right people, in the right room, for the right amount of time, talking about the right thing. It is the give and take of face-to-face brainstorming that cannot be replaced by email, chat, or even video conferencing. Joe Master, Executive Director of Marketing and Digital Strategy at Drexel University said it best, “An idea is always brilliant in your head. But when you throw it in the pot with other ideas, that’s when the magic happens."

Taking these three situations into account, start by looking at the meetings you organize. Most likely, it will be hard to scrap any meeting in its entirety so rather than saying "does this meeting need to happen" start with "does this part of the meeting need to happen." Does this part of the meeting help your team connect? Do we need body language to make sure things will go smoothly? Do we need the give and take of face-to-face brainstorming? If all three of those answers are 'no', try asking these questions instead: Can we do this asynchronously (Planner, Teams, Trello, Google, etc.) What purpose does this serve? Does it need to happen at all?

Another approach that is recommended is to cancel all reoccurring meetings for 2 weeks. Afterwards, ask the question - what did we miss? What are the must-haves? Then, restructure your meetings to include only what you really need.

Clearing the Path

Once we have determined which parts of meetings should stay and which should go, we then need to take steps to make sure the parts that stay are effective. As mentioned in Part 1 of this article series, Clearing the Path for Effective Change, if we want our change in meeting structure to stick, we need to "tweak" our environment so that we can make "the right behaviors a little easier, and the wrong behaviors a little harder" (Chip & Dan Heath, Switch). If the purpose of the meeting is to brainstorm and come to a decision, what can we do to make that outcome easier to reach? If we think of it in relation to the Elephant and the Rider analogy mentioned in Part 1, the Rider may know what an effective meeting looks like, but when the elephant gets overworked, tired, and drained it will steer away from what is right and logical. However, if we build the path out well with a solid road and put up some guardrails, it will be much easier to stay on course.

The following list contains some universally accepted suggestions for holding an effective meeting, along with some corresponding tips to make those right behaviors just a little bit easier.

Start and End On-time

Showing up late to a meeting not only leads to time lost, but it increases frustration resulting in fewer ideas shared and less accomplished. Meetings that chronically go over time lead to distrust from attendees and a domino effect throwing off the whole day. Not to mention both are great ways to tell everyone else in the room that that you don't respect them.

Try this: Change your default meeting times in your calendar to 25 and 50 minutes. When you go to schedule a meeting, this will automatically build in some buffer time, something that is especially needed in our current world of back-to-back virtual meetings. If we all end on time, we are more likely to all start on time.

Beware of Parkinson's Law

Since the invention of online calendaring, we have somehow decided that everything we need to get done will fit nicely in a 30-, 60- or 90-minute timeslot. Unfortunately, Parkinson's Law tells us that something will take the amount of time allotted for it. In other words, a conversation that could have happened in 10 minutes, but was scheduled for 45, will take 45. Break this habit. If you only need 15 minutes, schedule a 15-minute meeting. If one part of your meeting you want to get a little input, decide how long that will be and then move on.

Try this: For longer meetings with lots to address, really think about how much time you need for each topic then set a timer for each block. This will prevent spending the entire meeting addressing one item on the agenda. If you are consistently running out of time, reassess your meeting structure for the next quarter.

Choose the right attendees

There is a lot out there on what the right number is for a successful meeting. The truth is, there's no magic number, but the consistent message across every book I've read or podcast I've listened to is the general sentiment that as size increases the meeting changes and the goals and agenda should reflect that. The more people you invite, the more intentional you will need to be with planning and facilitating. Most will recommend 7 or 8 for a good meeting size, however a really skilled facilitator can still have a productive meeting with 10 to 12.

Try this: Google is known for putting a limit on their meeting sizes (no more than 10) while Amazon has the slightly more fun "2 Pizza Rule" where we shouldn't invite more than what two pizzas could feed. I've also read about the 8-18-1800 Rule where it sticks to 8 for regular meetings, 18 for brainstorming, and 1800 for department/company wide. Again, it's not about the specific number but rather about building a habit that will make it easier to keep the meeting sizes from getting out of control.

Seek out more input

It is a common joke that one thing people dislike more than meetings is not being invited to one. In the effort to keep meeting size small, we don't want to unintentionally exclude other voices or alienate our colleagues. We want to send the message that the reason they were not invited is not because we do not value their input, but rather because we do value their time.

Try this: Use a survey to give non-attendees an opportunity to give input prior to the meeting.

Or this: Use representative voices whose job it is to gather and give information to the group of people they are representing.

Or this: Create a shared Notebook like OneNote for meeting notes and invite secondary stakeholders to it.

Or this: Have people attend a meeting only at certain times when they are needed.

Be Intentional

While I was tempted to call this section "Always, always, always have an Agenda" I decided not to because checking off an agenda box does not accomplish anything. An agenda only makes a difference when it’s intentional. There can also be arguments for making up agendas at the start of a meeting or that having too detailed of an outline will hinder creativity and enjoyment. 95% of the time, however, an agenda is the way to go. By writing it down before the meeting it becomes just as much a medium of self-discipline than it is a method of communication.

Try this: Find the habit that works for you. For mission-oriented meetings (stand-alone meetings set up to accomplish a task) stick with a simple Purpose statement, a reminder to attendees why they are there and what they want to accomplish. For process-oriented meetings (staff meetings, standups, etc.), pick a general agenda that stays consistent then only adjust one or two portions of it. You can also ask for input ahead of time to include relevant topics of discussion.

Don't let rituals become ruts

Routines are great because they let people know what to expect, but they can also lead to staleness and lack inspiration. Mixing up aspects of set routines keep the consistency that teams need while still maintaining the variety needed for creativity and enjoyment.

Try this: If you include sharing as a part of your meeting, like highs and lows or asking for positive stories, try mixing it up with different themes every month.

Create space for every voice

Too often in regular meetings it is the loud voices which are heard most, but we do a disservice to our team when we don't make it easier for the quiet thinkers to present their ideas.

Try this: Start your recurring meeting with a personal question. Connecting on a human level and starting with everyone speaking sets the stage that you value every voice at the table.

Proactively prevent groupthink

The phenomenon of groupthink can easily occur in the modern work culture of being a positive team player. This desire for cohesiveness can result in irrational and dysfunctional decision making. We want to be positive and assume the best, but we also need to create an environment where it is okay to disagree.

Try this: Make it a regular part of meetings to share failure or "lows" of the week. By building this into your culture it will send the message to your team that everything doesn't always need to be positive. Dissent and disagreement are okay and needed to be successful in what we do.

Action Items

While some meetings are just for brainstorming, most will include some form of divvying up responsibility. Writing out specific action items will increase the chance that they get done while also decreasing the chance of misunderstanding.

Try this: Set a timer to go off 5-15 minutes before the end of the meeting, depending on meeting length. This will allow adequate time to wrap up and assign action items. Have each person go through and make "I will" statements. For example: I will talk to marketing about the new website. I will set up a meeting with the Sales team, etc. Try using a shared OneNote to record the statements and each person will be able to add their own Outlook Task Flag that will automatically add it to their To-Do list.

Follow-through

Assigning action items and taking notes do no good if there is no follow through. As the meeting organizer it is your job to make sure everyone leaves a meeting on the same page.

Try this: When you schedule a meeting that you are leading, create an appointment for yourself right after. If you get in this habit, then when that meeting rolls around you've already buffered out time to wrap up any notes and send out action items. Using applications like Microsoft's Planner and updating during or right after the meeting will also streamline some of the follow-through.

Over communicate the why

You know that your daily standup is about more than just sharing info about work. It's about connecting, it's about accountability. You know that, but does your team? When people don’t know the "why" they ask "why is my time being wasted?" When they know the why, they can see that it's not time wasted, its time invested.

Try this: Include a purpose in every meeting invite. This will set the tone for the meeting and will force you - the organizer - to make sure there is a purpose. When you write something down you are forced to be more precise than you are verbally. By doing this first, you have a more concrete "why" that will be easier to repeat and reaffirm. If you have "purposes" that will be repeated, try inserting an Outlook "Quick Part" to make the process easier.

Beware of Blind Spots

In The Surprising Science of Meetings a study showed that most leaders think their meetings are better than they are. Look for ways that will reveal your blind spots.

Try this: Make your recurring meetings in 3-month blocks. At that end of each quarter reassess, ask for feedback, and make sure that the structure is still the best for your current work. Adjust and repeat. You can also try an anonymous survey.

Don't let it all fall on you

I just gave you a ton of suggestions which are either leaving you feeling motivated or overwhelmed. Either way, you won't be good at all of this, at least not right away. Do a little self-analysis and figure out where you might need help.

Try this: Select some members of your team to share some of the responsibility. If you're bad at keeping time, make someone timekeeper. Terrible at note taking and following through with action items? Assign a scribe. Need help making sure every voice is heard? Assign a facilitator. Keep these roles for 90 days then switch.

In his book Measure What Matters, author John Doerr wrote "Ideas are easy, execution is everything." Building the right path is all about execution. Trying just a few of these tips will make it a lot easier to execute the type of meeting that people look forward to. The kind of meeting that, when people leave, they will feel refreshed and inspired. Those are the meetings where people enjoy coming to work and where world-changing ideas are born.

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