Need to Chair? Don't Despair

The cost to organisations of ineffective and inefficient meetings and the delays in progress of improvements, change or projects, as a result of lack of action and/or decision making must be eye wateringly immense. Have no fear, in this post we delve into how to better manage a meeting, how to do it effectively, and efficiently.

Lets look at the reasons to become a great Chair of Meeting?

We've all sat in meetings and left with feelings that it was a complete waste of your time, your time would have been better spent elsewhere, and a reluctance to attend the next one.

There may have been overpowering loud voices from people that obviously like the sound of their own voices. On the other hand, some people might have been sat like church mice, saying nothing and really disengaging from the process.

You did not understand the purpose of the meeting and there were no actions captured as there was little in the way of structure, no agenda and/or no minutes from the last meeting. Without apparent purpose, leadership, or organisation, a poor meeting can drag on forever.

The time spent in these types of meetings costs money to your organisation and it is wasted completely as they are so unproductive. Imagine the last meeting you attended like this and do a quick calculation of the potential cost and what was actually achieved. It will make your eyes water.

However, effective meetings leave everyone feeling organised, motivated, and clear on what they need to get done in the following days or weeks.

If you want to plan and host a successful meeting, you’ll need a proper framework and time management strategy to lead the discussion in the right direction.

What Makes a Successful Meeting?

Meetings remain vital to accomplishing a shared vision within business groups, no matter how much technology is added to our daily lives. Meetings define the strategic frameworks for our workplaces. Whether remote or in-person, effective meetings are crucial for team work and productive.

Efficient meetings can speed through an agenda in a short amount of time, and effective meetings deliver a tangible result or outcome.

Everyone should leave the meeting with a feeling of clarity in exactly what they need to do, how they need to do it, and when it needs to be done.

Successful meetings should:

• Define the group and its purpose and all participants should understand their role within the group, why they are there.

• Inspire creativity and cooperation

• Take individual ideas and refine them to actionable solutions

• Define meeting goals and required deadlines

  
  

To run an effective, efficient and successful meeting:-

1. Define the meeting objectives - As a leader, you must differentiate between the need for essential communications (which can be done through email or phone call) versus the need to call a strategic meeting to accomplish an important goal (like project planning, solving a problem, setting a goal, or making a decision). There are two primary types of meetings:

   1. Routine meetings (ex: Monday morning recap and projections, Friday team meetings, etc.)

   2. Strategic meetings (ex: task force meetings, problem-solving, creating a plan, etc.)

   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   
   

   Although each type of meeting may be run differently, they require an objective. To clarify your objectives, jot them down! Better yet, send the meeting objectives out with the agenda, so everyone is on the same page. Be as clear and concise as possible with your meeting objective, for example:

   • Brainstorming session for how to reduce customer loss

   • Explore third-party solutions to increase efficiency

   • Present first quarter project progress and determine next steps

   • Post-job meeting with key stakeholders to celebrate wins and identify opportunities to improve

     
     

   If you can’t describe why you’re holding a meeting in a sentence or two, you probably don’t need to have the meeting. The meeting objective should have results-oriented terms and actionable goals. There may be several goals within the more significant objective, these should all be defined for the team to understand ahead of time.

   
   

2. Create an agenda & Send out calendar Invites - Without a compass to guide you, the entire team will feel like a ship lost at sea. We all know that time is a precious resource. An agenda should directly support progress towards meeting your objectives. At the same time, sticking to a meeting agenda demonstrates that you are an effective and organised leader, which means more trust and dedication from your team.

   
   

   We’ve all been in one of those meetings that were far too short to cover everything that needed to be discussed.

   On the flip side, there is nothing worse than a meeting that gets derailed into off-topic conversations and goes on for far longer than anticipated. Find a happy medium between the two by scheduling the meeting length and time around achieving the specific objective at hand.

   
   
   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   The length of an effective meeting should reflect how many people are involved and how in-depth the project is.

   
   

   • Each agenda item should have a clear amount of time allotted to it, for example:

     • Introduction/call to the meeting (2 minutes)

     • Review previous meeting notes (2 min.)

     • Present objective or problem at hand (3 min.)

     • Open brainstorming/group discussion (10 min.)

     • Report from team 1 (10 min.)

     • Questions for team 1 (3 min.)

     • News from team 2 (10 min.)

     • Questions for team 2 (3 min.)

     • Updates from the chief executive (5 min.)

   • Closing statements / clarify Actions, Owners, and Timelines (5 min.)

     
     

   This agenda reflects a complex team project with 10 or more people. A smaller team should not require as much time. In general, meetings should never last more than 60 minutes because people might lose focus and interest.

   Keep it short and to the point - You can always have a further discussion later on.

   
   

   The timing of the meeting should be chosen based on what needs to get done. Research shows that brainstorming, creativity, and strategic thinking are best in the mornings when the prefrontal cortex is most active and we have the most mental energy. On the other hand, we are typically better at creative problem solving later in the day because we are less distracted and more relaxed.

   
   

   Don’t forget to consider time zone differences (if you’re a remote team) and respect other calendar items within your organisation.

   
   

   Keep the agenda as simple as possible to keep your team engaged. Each agenda item should be allotted a specific amount of time so that everyone can know their time constraints for discussions or presentations.

   
   

   It is best practice to send the agenda out ahead of time if possible! Include the text or document linked in the Calendar Invite. You can also display the agenda on a projector screen or whiteboard during the meeting to keep everyone on the same page. Be sure that only necessary team members are on the invite list for maximum productivity.

   
   

3. Foster a safe space to promote collaboration -If you have introverts on your team who need to speak up, use the agenda to give them some time to prep. Introverts appreciate being able to prepare for speaking or brainstorming sessions.  

   
   

   

   
   

   Collaboration can only happen when people feel safe and comfortable. These are the best tips for creating a safe space that yields truly effective meetings every time. Establish guidelines when the meeting starts to ensure that participants feel comfortable speaking and sharing their ideas while remaining respectful of others and not getting too off-topic. You can also note that you prefer mobile phones to be silent to reduce any distractions.

   
   

   It’s essential to make sure each team member feels heard while encouraging balanced participation. Consider a “round table” approach where everyone gets a moment to speak. Ineffective meetings allow one person or a handful of people to dominate the conversation while others sit on the side-lines.

   
   

   A great meeting invites a feeling of safety amongst team members by welcoming new ideas and removing the fear of public criticism. The highest performing teams with the most successful meetings have trust, confidence, and curiosity. Their work environments do not promote punishment for mistakes. In other words, to run effective meetings, you need to be a positive leader that is collaborative and kind. You can do this by keeping to a few steadfast rules both in and out of meetings:

   • Use positive reinforcement to recognise achievements rather than magnifying shortcomings.

   • Never publicly reprimand an employee in front of the team.

   • Avoid blaming any specific team or individual for a problem. Research shows that this destroys trust and confidence in a leader. Instead, opt for curiosity and stay solution-oriented.

   • Ask for feedback. Asking for feedback increases people’s trust in their leaders.

   
   

   Create a pleasant ambiance (such as open windows or a decorated room) or consider providing beverages to help people relax a bit more. Details like temperature, light, comfortable chairs, and even a few indoor plants can help create calmer, more effective meetings.

   
   

4. Choose attendees and appoint important roles - Meetings are expensive and time-consuming. Avoid inviting anyone who is not needed to achieve the meeting objective.

   At the same time, be sure that you have enough participants for a productive open discussion with diverse perspectives. A good meeting strikes a balance between reducing attendees and ensuring the creative potential of a group.

   
   

   

   
   

   Running effective meetings always requires appointing roles ahead of time.

   • Who are the key decision-makers in your meeting?

   • As the host, will you be the facilitator?

   • Will team leaders also be reporting about their department or projects?

   • Who is the notetaker? They will be responsible for keeping track of the discussion and recording every good idea or action plan agreed on. They are also responsible for sending out a meeting recap with actions, owners, and timelines that were agreed on during the meeting.

   • Who is the timekeeper? They can help keep everyone on track with the agenda plan.

   • If you are running a project management meeting, be sure that key stakeholders from each department or project unit are ready to report on their area of responsibility. Allot a specific amount of time for each presentation in the agenda items.

     
     

5. Use best practices to stay on track - Failed meetings can be caused by a lack of objectivity, a poorly planned agenda, bad discussions, an unengaged team, or all of the above.

   Regardless of the problem, it’s generally your job as the leader to fix them. Keep meeting participants on track by laying ground rules and keeping things interesting.

   
   

   Some meetings can crash and burn due to Zoom Fatigue.

   
   

   

   
   

   Establish ground rules in your introduction to reduce side discussions, and everyone knows the core topic at hand. If side discussions begin to happen, kindly re-route the team back to the objectives and promise to revisit those ideas in the future.

   
   

   Use a whiteboard or chat recorded by the notetaker to jot down unrelated topics that can be reviewed in future meetings.  These are sometimes referred to as carparks.

   
   

   To run an effective meeting, you need your team to be engaged. Good meetings are exciting and provide plenty of mental stimulation. 

   
   

   Here are a few tips for leading engaging meetings:

   • Don’t drone on and on in a monotone.

   • Use visuals or slides on a screen.

   • Keep the meeting short and to the point.

   • Ask questions periodically so participants can contribute and remain interested.

   Engagement is especially challenging in remote meetings where participants are often distracted or multitask. Using videos as presentations is one of the easiest ways to keep people engaged.

   
   

   Drawing in virtual attendees through regular question asking (“Tom, could you share your thoughts on this?”) is especially important in remote meetings.

   
   

6. Ensure you finish the meeting with clear actions, their owners, and timelines - Ultimately, the most effective meeting strategies come to a crux at the very end when everyone is about to leave, and they wonder, “why the heck did I go to that meeting?”.

   
   

   Before the meeting adjourns, align on actions, owners, and timelines:

   • Actions: What is going to get done? What are the key metrics? How does the assignment fit into the broader objective?

   • Owners: Who is going to accomplish which action?

   • Timelines: When is it due? What are the deadlines

   • Where should people report to with their final product?

   If you forget this part, your entire meeting was in vain. People need crystal clear direction for what to do next.

   Be sure also to discuss the general time frame of your next meeting.

   
   

   Most importantly, thank everyone for coming and reminding them of their excellent work. 

   
   

   Always end on a positive note!