Ah … Meetings

Ask any leader what a key challenge is for them in their day to day business life and they will likely say they are time poor and typically we spend a significant amount of time in meetings. So doesn’t it make sense then to make sure that, as an organisation, we ensure we make our meetings as effective and efficient as possible.

A lot of what I am going to bring to your awareness in the next few lines is what you already know. It’s common sense but all too often it’s not common practice. So, here is a quick reminder of some basic principles:

  1. Meetings cost money! Gathering a group of leaders in a room can be a very expensive exercise especially if no positive action oriented results or decisions occur. A crude calculation of the combined hourly rate of everyone’s salary written up on a flip chart certainly gets the mind focused.
  2. It may sound bas)ic but having a chair, a time keeper and a minutes taker is key to having a successful meeting. The role of the chair is critical. I see him as the guardian of Rackham’s Communication Model watching for high levels of shutting out and making sure that people have an opportunity to contribute.
  3. Here are some ideas to help ensure everyone has a chance to contribute (we talked about these on the programme); The Talking Wall, Three Minute Soap Box, Working in Pairs
  4. In general, I would suggest that minutes of a meeting don’t have to be very detailed but they do need to be action focused. At the end of each meeting there needs to be a list of actions, with owners and agreed timelines for completion.

Try the 4 suggestions above… others have and have not only saved time but have given feedback that their meetings have become more effective.

The best of luck!!

Maurice Whelan,
Founder and Managing Director
Unleash Potential