Having fulfilled my lifetime quota of attendance at poorly run meetings, I’ve developed a bit of a crusade mentality to guide others on how to run these sessions effectively. Here are my latest top 11 ideas for taming the meeting beast and actually getting something out of these infernal sessions. Please add to the list and we'll all save some time and aggravation!
I’ve heard the phrase “We had a good meeting,” or some derivative of it so many times that I’ve lost count. Whenever I hear this meeting review or it’s ugly stepchild, “We talked about a lot at that meeting,” alarm bells start ringing, my spider sense tingles and I have to resist the sudden urge to scream. I know then that I am in the company of a Professional Meeting Attendee!
My observation is that only a minority of leaders (managers, supervisors, executives, project managers) understand how to properly prepare a team for and run an effective, purposeful and productive meeting. Ironically, look at the Outlook calendars of most people operating inside corporate walls, and their schedules are filled with one meeting after another. With all of these unproductive meetings to attend, who has time to work?
