The Seven Deadly Sins of Meetings:
-People don’t take meetings seriously.
-Meetings are too long.
-People wander off the topic.
-Nothing happens once the meeting ends.
-People don’t tell the truth.
-Meetings are always missing important information, so they postpone critical decisions.
-Meetings never get better.
Communication purpose and strategy should come first in planning meetings, as in all communication situations. You need to define a clear purpose and analyze your audience to determine whether a meeting is the best forum for what you want to accomplish. Use the following questions to direct you in deciding to meet or not:
What is the purpose? What do I hope to accomplish?
Will a meeting accomplish that purpose more efficiently? More effectively?
Can I describe exactly the outcome I am seeking from the meeting?
Is our group more productive when we meet?
Leaders often have assistants to handle the details associated with their meetings but you will need to decide about the purpose, outcomes, agenda, setting, timing, and materials. To ensure your meetings are productive, you must conduct the necessary planning by answering the following questions:
What is the purpose and expected outcome?
What should be included on the agenda?
Who should attend?
What is the best setting?
What is the best timing?
What information will now need for the meeting?
To ensure a productive meeting, you will want to manage expectations by communicating to your attendees before or just after the meeting starts what the decision-making procedure will be. Your approach may be so pervasive and well understood that you will not need to bring up the subject in a meeting; however, you may want to use different approaches for different types of meetings or problems, so you should make your approach clear for each meeting.
You should define the meeting roles and responsibilities before or after the meeting starts. The roles recommended for most meetings are as follows:
Leader
Facilitate
Note taker
Timekeeper
Example Ground Rules for Virtual Meetings
Introduce yourself when you join the meeting
State your name prior to your comments throughout the call
Avoid any side conversations since not all participants can hear them
Keep the speakerphone close to the person who is talking to avoid background noise
Avoid tapping pens or shuffling papers since these sounds may be exaggerated on the other end.
Common analytical tools that work well in many different types of problem-solving meetings are as follows:
Brainstorming
Ranking or rating
Sorting by category (logical grouping)
Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats.
Opposition Analysis
Decision trees
From/to analysis
Force-field analysis
The matrix
Frameworks
MANAGING MEETING PROBLEMS AND CONFLICT
Problem
-Confused Objectives and Expectations
-Unclear Roles and Responsibilities
-Confusion between Process and Content
-Drifting off Topic
-Data Confusion or Overload
-Repetition and Wheel Spinning
-Time Violations
-Meetings are too long.
-People wander off the topic.
-Nothing happens once the meeting ends.
-People don’t tell the truth.
-Meetings are always missing important information, so they postpone critical decisions.
-Meetings never get better.
Communication purpose and strategy should come first in planning meetings, as in all communication situations. You need to define a clear purpose and analyze your audience to determine whether a meeting is the best forum for what you want to accomplish. Use the following questions to direct you in deciding to meet or not:
What is the purpose? What do I hope to accomplish?
Will a meeting accomplish that purpose more efficiently? More effectively?
Can I describe exactly the outcome I am seeking from the meeting?
Is our group more productive when we meet?
Leaders often have assistants to handle the details associated with their meetings but you will need to decide about the purpose, outcomes, agenda, setting, timing, and materials. To ensure your meetings are productive, you must conduct the necessary planning by answering the following questions:
What is the purpose and expected outcome?
What should be included on the agenda?
Who should attend?
What is the best setting?
What is the best timing?
What information will now need for the meeting?
To ensure a productive meeting, you will want to manage expectations by communicating to your attendees before or just after the meeting starts what the decision-making procedure will be. Your approach may be so pervasive and well understood that you will not need to bring up the subject in a meeting; however, you may want to use different approaches for different types of meetings or problems, so you should make your approach clear for each meeting.
You should define the meeting roles and responsibilities before or after the meeting starts. The roles recommended for most meetings are as follows:
Leader
Facilitate
Note taker
Timekeeper
Example Ground Rules for Virtual Meetings
Introduce yourself when you join the meeting
State your name prior to your comments throughout the call
Avoid any side conversations since not all participants can hear them
Keep the speakerphone close to the person who is talking to avoid background noise
Avoid tapping pens or shuffling papers since these sounds may be exaggerated on the other end.
Common analytical tools that work well in many different types of problem-solving meetings are as follows:
Brainstorming
Ranking or rating
Sorting by category (logical grouping)
Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats.
Opposition Analysis
Decision trees
From/to analysis
Force-field analysis
The matrix
Frameworks
MANAGING MEETING PROBLEMS AND CONFLICT
Problem
-Confused Objectives and Expectations
-Unclear Roles and Responsibilities
-Confusion between Process and Content
-Drifting off Topic
-Data Confusion or Overload
-Repetition and Wheel Spinning
-Time Violations
Management Approach
-Create an agenda that includes objectives as well as end products.
-Send agenda out ahead of time and review it at the beginning of the meeting.
-Communicate roles and responsibilities with agenda or establish at the beginning of the meeting.
-Separate the leader and the facilitator role.
-Call time-outs for process checks as soon as confusion is expressed.
-Stop and review meeting objectives. If digression continues, suggest
Discussion continue after meeting
-Topic be placed on agenda for next meeting
-Topic be tabled, stored for future (write topic down for all to see and make sure it is discussed at end of meeting if time allows or at an agreed future date)
-Control handouts to ensure all have the same version.
-Create simplified data packs specific to meeting
-Exclude any data not directly relevant to objectives
-Control the discussion by reminding attendees of objectives
-Start on time. Allowing delays at the beginning of meetings cuts efficiency and sends the message that the leader is flexible on time
-Have a timekeeper. If time limits are repeatedly violated, reevaluate agenda topics and time limits and build in cushion time
When the common meeting problems turn into direct conflict, perhaps because of personality or factions within the group, facilitators may need to be more aggressive in their tactics. One popular technique often used by negotiators calls on the individuals involved in the conflict to apply different levels of assertiveness and cooperation. They can approach the problem by competing, collaborating, avoiding, or accommodating.
None of these modes seem the best for the situation, the facilitator may want to try one of the following methods of conflict management to calm the situation so that the meeting can continue:
Turn the question to the group.
Use the is/is not approach or a pro/con format.
Try listing points of agreement and disagreement.
Attempt to get an underlying assumption.
Shift the discussions to the facts (put on the white hat).
ENSURING MEETING LEAD TO ACTION
Assign specific tasks to specific people.
Review all actions and responsibilities at the end of the meeting
Provide a meeting summary with assigned deliverables included.
Follow up on action items in a reasonable time.
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