With summer fast becoming a distant memory, many of us have spent the month of September returning to routines, including regular work meetings. Bad planning and execution can often make meetings a waste of time, but if done well they can be very fruitful, and are essential to making decisions and strengthening team bonds.
While changing workplace dynamics have led many to question the way meetings are run in recent years, the topic is not new. Indeed, the Harvard Business Review published an article entitled “How to run a meeting” as far back as 1976.
So, how can we make these regular workplace gatherings truly useful?
‘This could have been an email’
There are several keys to holding effective meetings:
- define your objectives
- get the right people in the room
- send material beforehand
- set a clear agenda, and stick to it
- send or publish conclusions afterwards
This might seem like obvious advice, but as many of us know, it is rarely followed in practice. Meetings instead tend to become a space where productivity is diluted by endless, meandering discussions with no clear aiming point.
One of the first questions you therefore need to ask before calling a meeting is: Is it necessary? This crucial question is often ignored.
We often call meetings out of habit, without asking whether they are the best way to do what we need to do. If you need to make important decisions or discuss a specific, complex problem, a well structured meeting might be what is needed. However, if the aim is simply to share information, it might be better to use online discussion tools or even – as so many frustrated meeting attendees have said (or thought) – to just send an email.
Collaborative problem solvers are made not born – here’s what you need to know
Meetings with purpose
It is fundamental to clearly define a meeting’s objective – sharing information, debating ideas and making decisions each need a different approach. If this is unclear, participants will leave feeling frustrated, confused, and annoyed at having wasted their time.
Another significant aspect is the role of each person in a meeting. You don’t just need to get the right people in the room, they also need to know why they are there. Clearly defined roles make it easier to prevent discussions from going off on a tangent, and will also encourage active participation and commitment from everyone involved.
Language-related misunderstanding at work: What it is, why it occurs and what organizations can do about it
The need to get together
Part of the reason why so many workplaces keep calling ineffective, unnecessary meetings is that, deep down, many of us like getting together. Meetings satisfy several basic human needs, including social interaction, being part of a wider community, keeping informed, and feeling heard. Meetings can also give us a sense of status, as it means our opinions are valued and we have the chance to influence big decisions.
However, these instinctual needs can often lead us into unnecessary meetings that reduce productivity instead of improving it. This is another reason to think especially carefully about whether a meeting is really needed.
Meetings are an unavoidable part of our working lives. The key is therefore not to avoid them completely, but to make them more worthwhile and productive. This takes a conscious effort from everyone involved.
How an ‘always-on’ work culture can create a vicious cycle that damages workers and employers
Effective, productive meetings
It’s not enough to just complain about meetings being unproductive or too long, we have to follow the aforementioned points: a clear purpose from the outset and a steady focus. It is also important to share or publish outcomes so people can plainly see what was achieved and what they need to do next.
Another effective strategy is to limit the number of meetings, and their length. Instead of long, regular meetings, try keeping them shorter, less frequent, and focused on solving specific problems. This will not only reduce the time spent (or wasted) in meetings, it will also free up time for people to get on with their work, thus improving productivity.
While meetings may seem like a burden, they can be a powerful tool if deployed correctly. The key is to manage them effectively, ensuring that each one is necessary, well-structured and has a clear purpose. Only then can we maximise their potential and turn them into a valuable resource instead of a drag on productivity. The projects we work on, and the quality of our workplace relationships, will thank us.
