Five steps to make your meetings more productive
I enjoy business meetings where issues are addressed, ideas are discussed and decisions are made.
In short, where there is two-way interaction between people who are engaged and invested in solving the issues at hand.
But how often in the last week have you found yourself asking why you were at a meeting? Or wishing it would end so you could do something more productive with your time?
Here are five practical steps you can take to ensure the meetings you run are as productive and enjoyable as possible. You may find people will actually want to be there!
Invite people who are able and willing to contribute and make decisions. Why else would they be there, except to make a valuable contribution!?
Send out a short, clear agenda beforehand and expect people to come prepared.
Proactively encourage diverse thinking and ideas, allowing everyone to contribute, however ‘out there’ their ideas may seem - there’s no room for a herd mentality.
Encourage vigorous, respectful discussion, where every idea is thoroughly tested and challenged. Ensure it doesn’t get personal!
Make decisions as a group based on your discussion, with everyone committing to follow through even if they originally proposed a different solution.
These steps may sound simple, but I know that they can be difficult to put into practice, and it certainly isn’t an exhaustive list.
However, over time you will start to see a big difference in how productive and enjoyable your meetings can become for everyone involved.