The meeting is a reflection of the maturity of a team and the relationship between its members. It is a necessary tool for the proper functioning of an organization. However, it is essential to lead effective meetings in order to extract their full potential.
Poor work habits have led to meetings being among the most criticized practices by teams in organizations: almost half of the professionals believe that they are a waste of time.
As if the above were not enough, it is estimated that more than 30 hours a month of work are lost in unproductive meetings and that up to 73% of the attendees spend their time on other matters during the meeting.
The meeting does not serve to take time away from professionals and prevent them from devoting it to the really important work: it is a great tool. Do you want to know some keys to lead effective meetings? We explain them below.
0) Only meetings that are really necessary should be convened. This is something that should not even need to be pointed out, hence the numbering. When considering whether you need a meeting, try to formulate the reason and purpose in 10 words. Are you capable? Do you have a reason? Sometimes the issue you want to address can be addressed with a brief one-on-one discussion. Value the time of the professionals around you and your own.
1) If you are going to finally call the meeting, define a clear agenda: topics to be discussed and objectives or actions you are looking for. To lead effective meetings, it is essential to have a previous work that allows you to get to the point. In this sense, never forget that your team must know what you are asking for so that they can give it to you. The time and work invested in preparing the meeting are fundamental for it to work well and bear fruit.
2) Limit attendance at the meeting to professionals who really need to hear what you have to say and who will provide valuable information. The number should be between 3 and 8 people; for example, Google does not allow meetings of more than 10. Do not take productive time away from other professionals and remember that they can always be involved in what has been decided through a subsequent memo or report.
3) Convene the meeting well in advance. The professionals who will attend should have time to prepare their interventions (the leader too!) and even participate in the preparation of previous documents in the cloud. In the same way, brief interviews can be held beforehand to get all the inputs from the attendees.
4) Set the time and space in a logical, effective way: Mondays early in the morning and Fridays late in the afternoon make no sense, the meeting is important and should be at a time of maximum productivity. The rules should also be clear before starting, which implies punctuality (you start on time and penalize those who are late, not those who comply) and that one person leads the meeting, so that he or she will guide the conversations and cut off any tangential topics immediately.
5) Effective meetings are short and concise. What has to be done, is done in the agreed time: a meeting can last as long as you want if there are no limits. The maximum attention span of people is 10-18 minutes, try to concentrate the entire agenda in 15 minutes and do not exceed half an hour in any case. Attendees should have their homework done and focus on the key topic. As an example, there are technology companies that set a very tight alarm and the meeting is over as soon as it rings. Over time, professionals adapt.
6) It is important that there is a leader who seeks effectiveness, but space must also be left for relevant comments, questions and opinions. In fact, it is advisable for the team to share their impressions first so as not to influence their judgment and so that everyone listens to each other with equal attention. If professionals feel valued and involved, they will be more creative, better ideas will be contributed as a whole and meetings will be much more productive. All this, without forgetting that there is limited time and that topics that do not fit on the agenda will be cut.
7) An effective meeting always ends with concrete actions. Before ending the session, the highlights should be recapped and the following questions should be asked: what will we do next, who will take care of it, when will it be done, and in what time frame? It is important to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
8) A meeting must be followed up. The first step is to write a report or action plan with the agreements reached: it will be sent both to the participants and to the people in the organization who have to be informed even if they were not present. After this, the leader should talk individually with the attendees in case doubts arise and maintain contact as the actions progress.
As these 8 keys show, a true organizational leader conducts successful and effective meetings through a clear agenda, as well as productive but also empathetic behaviors that invite the participation and involvement of all members.
The whole team benefits from the leadership of effective meetings: each party is always clear about the actions to be taken, the next steps to be taken, and it helps them feel part of the project.
If your organization needs to organize meetings like these or develop team bonding and team effectiveness, why not take a look at the experiences we offer? You'll find the right one for you and be able to lead both your team and effective meetings.