Regardless of industry, meetings are an essential part of our work lives. They help us communicate with our teams effectively, problem-solve more quickly, and promote healthy working relationships with our colleagues. However, if not managed effectively, meetings can become a source of stress and frustration and can actually have an adverse effect on productivity.
Below we’re outlining our top strategies for running a successful, effective meeting.
Decide If A Meeting Is Necessary
Before scheduling a meeting with your team you must decide if a meeting is truly necessary. Meetings take time and can be disruptive to both productivity and workflow across your team. Asking yourself the below questions will help you decide if this truly is a meeting that must be attended.
- What is the outcome and goal of this meeting?
- How much time needs to be invested in this meeting?
- Who are the must-attend individuals that the meeting cannot succeed without?
- And lastly, can the objective of this meeting be communicated just as effectively through an email or memo?
Keep The Invite List Small
Prior to sending your meeting invite, decide which key decision-makers must be present in this meeting in order to achieve the outlined objectives. We’ve all heard the phrase, “too many cooks in the kitchen,” which is exactly the scenario we wish to avoid. By including only the most essential individuals, this will help lessen the amount of dialogue in the meeting and ensure that decisions are being made quickly and effectively. Once objectives are met and action plans have been decided, the results of the meeting can be summarized and shared with other key members of the team.
Distribute A Clear Meeting Agenda
Communicating the purpose of the meeting along with the desired objectives will allow all attendees to prepare questions and input ahead of time. By releasing this information in advance, the conversation can quickly move into idea-sharing and problem-solving, without the need to explain objectives at the top of the meeting. Additionally, this will keep conversation focused on the outlined objectives, and reduce the likelihood of straying off-topic.
Keep the below in mind when building your meeting agenda:
- Outline a short description of your meeting objectives
- List all topics that will be discussed
- Identify any individuals that will be asked to address specific topics
- Include meeting time, location, and estimated length
- Provide any relevant information about the topic to reduce the need for explanation during the meeting
Provide Relevant Background Information Ahead of the Meeting
Providing read-ahead information can be a great way to get everyone up-to-speed on a topic of discussion prior to the meeting. Particularly for ideas where you are looking for feedback or solutions, this can provide adequate time for attendees to brainstorm and come with ideas or questions. When everyone has a full understanding of the topic of discussion and the outlined objectives, everyone can start the meeting on the same page allowing your team to ‘hit the ground running’ with objective-focused discussion.
Take Effective and Actionable Meeting Notes
Taking effective and actionable meeting notes will ensure everyone (including those not in attendance) is aligned in your goals and action items post-meeting. Clearly define what was discussed, what decisions were made, and what action items came as a result. Well-structured meeting minutes will communicate a thorough summary of the meeting to those who did not need to attend, but still need to be fully informed and involved in the execution. Action items should be clearly communicated with timelines, checkpoints, expectations, and assignments to those who are responsible for completing them.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Meeting
Learning to conduct effective meetings will be a series of trial and error as you see what works for your team specifically. Here are a few things to consider when looking to measure the effectiveness of your meetings:
- Track the timeliness of your meetings. If you are consistently going over your allotted time, it could be that you need more time in order to complete your objectives, or, you need to be more diligent in ensuring the conversation stays on track and moves swiftly.
- Track action items from previous meetings. Are they being completed? If not, it could be that more follow-up is needed or more communication is needed for those responsible for executing.
- Take note of the objectives that were met and were not met after each meeting.
- Track participation and engagement. If participation and engagement are low, it could be that your attendees are not understanding the purpose of the meeting, or that the meeting may not be deemed necessary for everyone.
While an effective meeting may look different depending on the team and industry, they should all share a few key components: Clear objectives, action items, and continued progress. If your meetings aren’t consistently meeting your outlined objectives, it could be time to reevaluate your meeting process.
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