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Many are a sign of power and dominance, but are they more than just the product of inflated ego?
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Why are we so intent on booking meetings when there is whitespace in the calendar?
The availability of whitespace allows us to actually get our work completed; a time where concentration and focus can be applied without clock watching, or waiting for your email client to sound that familiar chirp, signifying the time to stop whatever you’re doing, at whatever stage, and leave to apply you mental capacity to another, normally tedious task. Let’s stop looking to fill people’s calendars with meetings; it’s counterproductive, frustrating and generates toxicity. Examine other ways to distribute or disseminate information instead. |
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If we must
There’s a few specific types of meetings that are nearly always used incorrectly. This incorrect use of not just terminology, but actions, agendas and expectations (pre and post) defines levels of tardiness, attention and retention of knowledge - enter a meeting prepared ahead of time will increase your attention and knowledge retention, or, if you’re hosting - providing the fundamental knowledge expected ahead of time will enable your audience to delve deeper into your discussions and agenda.
If you require discussion regarding strategy, mission or direction, you must make it clear to participants they will be attending a working group. Expect break-out groups and squad-based teams to be formed (either with direction or naturally) to nurture independent thought to problem solving. Smaller squad-based teams can be used to massive effect by allowing a closer environment for the formulation of ideas, but requires cognitive trust within the squad.
If you require discussion regarding strategy, mission or direction, you must make it clear to participants they will be attending a working group. Expect break-out groups and squad-based teams to be formed (either with direction or naturally) to nurture independent thought to problem solving. Smaller squad-based teams can be used to massive effect by allowing a closer environment for the formulation of ideas, but requires cognitive trust within the squad.
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If you require a decision to be made, for project financing, overspend approval or other such examples, you must provide all the information and data to all participants ahead of time. Entering a meeting with the expectation to make decisions which affects project or programme cost, direction or resourcing requires expert-level understanding of the situation. Without it, it is unreasonable to make a decision, and unprofessional to push for one - you need the decision, you need to provide the information. |
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Presenting information and data should follow the communication ABC, it should be delivered with Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity. This ensures your audience understand the immediate requirements when coming to a decision. If your information or data requires extensive discussion, you have failed to prepare and package it correctly. This includes pitching at the wrong level; for example your technical director may fully understand the details of the gimbal bearings required to support the augmented spark igniter alongside the pogo oscillation suppression system accumulator - but your CFO certainly won’t. Technical meetings should be exactly that, finance and executive meetings should not.
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You may find that depending on who is present in the meeting, it can quickly descend into chaos. If a senior member of your firm is present, maybe someone who needs to make a decision, the agenda may sway toward what they want, not what the meeting is chaired for. Maintaining a strong and positive meeting environment will provide the psychological safety for participants to feel comfortable moving the agenda back to relevance. This environment will help present safe risks and innovative thought during working groups, and provide additional confidence for people to make decisions, rather that escalate higher (outside of the meeting).
SOME TIPS
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