Tweet

How to run Great Meetings

Written by: Ann Andrews

Article Overview: how to run and organise great meetings with your employees and co-workers

How to run Great Meetings

Over the years I have experimented with calling meetings by another name. It is one of those things whereby the very name conjures up all sorts of reactions – usually negative. Some suggestions are to call such sessions:

Forums (for open discussion, to share ideas, to give feedback, to ask for help/coaching/guidance and suggestions). These sessions are purely business focussed.
Mastermind Sessions. Similar to above, however after the business of the team or department is finished then the last 15 minutes can be spent on individual and personal time.

However, if some people feel this is purely semantics and a meeting is a meeting, then these are my suggestions for making the best use of the time together and the brain power in the room:

Making the most of meetings:

1.Conduct some pre work – ask some questions:

Why do we have the meeting at all?
Who really needs to be there?
Do people need to be there for the whole of the meeting?
When is the best time to have the meeting?
Where is the best place to hold the meeting?
How much notice do people need?
Do they need notice at all – if we have regular meetings shouldn’t people take responsibility for diarising the meeting for themselves?
What do people need to bring?
How long will the meeting last?
Who will chair it?
Who will take minutes?
Do we really need minutes or could someone simply summarise the action points?
What (if any)are the consequences for people not doing what they said they would do?

2. Meetings must have AN AGENDA! People need to know in advance what is to be covered so they can come to the meeting prepared.

3. They must have an assertive leader – someone who can keep things on track; put a halt to undue negativity; bring things to a conclusion in a way that everyone feels they have been heard and then set clearly defined action points around who is responsible for what and by when.

However, it is important that the chair person doesn’t talk for the whole meeting….meetings are about involving others – not about having a talking head. If one person hogs the meeting, no matter who that person is, then people will eventually switch off.

It is in such meetings that the chair person often remarks ‘How come no-one says anything IN the meeting yet have plenty to say out in the lunch-room?’ It’s because they are not given an opportunity to say anything!

4. Inform those who need to be there and send them the agenda.

5. Start the meeting by agreeing some ground rules for future meetings i.e.

Our meetings will start on time and finish on time. If people show up late that is their problem – we will not go back to cover what has been said. It soon sends a message that if you are late you will miss valuable information.
Agree on time frame at the beginning – we plan to be out of here by ….
Agree on a frame of reference (what I want to achieve today is x, if we have time I would like to discuss y and if we then have further time left, we can look at z.)
To maximise time for people, use a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 principle and have a time keeper. The first third of the meeting will be about last week (or month) depending on how often you plan to have your meetings.
The Second third is to go over the coming month – what projects are in place, who will be on leave, what deadlines are due; and the final third of the meeting to be about general business – the thing we usually give one or two minutes to but which is actually the most important part of the meeting. This is for ideas, issues, concerns, success stories – whatever. This is also the working ON the business whereas the first 2/3rds of the meeting are the working IN
Other issues you run out of time for can be put on an issues board for next meeting
Agree on process for “other business”. It may be worthwhile every now and again to have a meeting dedicated solely to ‘other business’

Keep on task and on track
Swap the chair regularly
Swap the timekeeper regularly

SUMMARISE - Who will do what and by when
What will happen to items of “other business”
Set date for next meeting
Who will chair next meeting/take minutes be the timekeeper

NB. The chair is responsible for:

Keeping things on track
Knowing when to give people time to discuss an issue, when to move on
Knowing how to deal with disagreements (i.e. it sounds like we have two very different opinions on this, what do others think?)
Keeping everyone focused on tasks not personalities
Letting everyone have input
Not letting anyone dominate (social styles)
Accountability - if someone said they would do something and they didn’t why did they not let someone know?
Reviewing the meeting process - what is going well? What could we do better?

As a Leader/manager, meetings are the most important tool you have for many reasons, they are:

A rare opportunity to get everyone together
A chance to chew the fat, catch up, find out who is doing what and who may need support.
A chance to compare results - who is doing well, who needs support?

Vary the reason for the meetings:

Grump sessions – let everyone get things off their chest – in a safe way of course. A talking stick is a good idea for this – each person to have two minutes with the talking stick to say how they are feeling right now. I statements only and no names need be mentioned – stick to behaviours.

Brainstorming sessions
Celebrations
Strategic thinking session

LARGE MEETINGS - Every two/three months to share the strategic information on the company (a state of the nation) plus an opportunity for people to ask questions and a chance to hear, meet and involve EVERYONE.

BRAINSTORMING/CREATIVITY SESSIONS – these are NOT for general business, they are to get everyone together to come up with new ideas….

Each group to come up with 50 new ideas for improvement. Have people decide - is this long term/medium term/short term/immediate
Of the immediate - who will do what/by when/what support do they need OR
Guest speakers (from outside the organisation, or from within the organisation)
Different people share information/success stories (best practices)
Socialise afterwards
Ask them what they would like or how you could do it differently
Praise….Celebrate
Accept that some people may not contribute

TRY ALL OF THE ABOVE! Don’t be afraid of meetings. Experiment; gain feedback; ask for ideas and input as to how they can be better. Make them work for you; after all, this is the key opportunity to start the 30% delegation process and enable you and your other key managers to start working ON the business not IN the business. It is also a rare opportunity for employees to become more involved in the big picture, not only by in sharing ideas for the day to day, but by actually taking responsibility for much of the ideas that come out of the sessions (moving from parent/child to adult/adult).

Related Articles
  Making Meetings Matter
  The Secrets To Managing Ineffective Meetings - 9 Proven Tips Which Make You Fail
  Ten Steps To Effective Meetings
  Halve Sales Costs
  Can you have high accountability if you don't have consequences?

Article Tags: 15 minutes, all sorts, best time, brain power, chair person, conclusion, consequences, guidance, mastermind, negativity, one of those things, personal time, semantics, sessions, share ideas, whole meeting



Related Forum Posts
Partner with them - Welcome to the Group TMR, Some ideas of people you can partner with for the Custom Napkins: - Wedding Planners - Photographers - Annual General Meetings for Corporations - Pageants - Hotels - Elite Restaurants - Elite Spas
Re: How to Promote Your Blog – The Definitive Guide to Promoting - Great information. Thanks so much for your help. I'm looking into google indexing right now and I'll be improving SEO moving forward. I checked out your blog and sites, too. Great content. Thank you...
Re: Welcome New Moderators in Addition to Our Fine Team! - Hey Terriz, Very nice to meet you . . . . Acapella ? . . . .Very cool. I used to listen to my uncle and his friends sing acapella on a Brooklyn NY street corner. Great memories . . .Great sound. Thanks Barry
Re: Weebly Free Websites... - Hi David, Great resource. I actually have a Weebly account but have never done anything with it. I'll agree the ease of setting up a website is very nice. It's clean and professional looking, and for someone that wants to just create a one page site or sales letter, it's a good alternative. Great find!
Re: Congratulations Topeyinka - Congrats Topeyinka! As Spiderman said "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"... Just kidding.. Have Fun!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

What Makes an Extraordinary Business Consultant?

Google Panda and Your Search Engine Rankings

Ten Reasons to take Notes during Sales Meetings

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.