Running Effective Meetings and Other Catchable Unicorns

Reading this article, you may think that I don’t like attending meetings. I just don’t like poorly run meetings.  Unfortunately, many meetings are poorly run. This begets follow up meetings which are also poorly run. Which begets more meetings….

Let’s agree that “meetings are necessary” and no one will ever complain that they have too few meetings on their calendar.   What are we going to do about it?

If we run more effective, more focused, and more efficient meetings, we will have happier participants, shorter meetings, and fewer follow up meetings.

This is the first of three separate blog posts.  This post is about running effective meetings.  The other blog posts will be about being an effective attendee at meetings and model meeting ideas and frameworks.

I have had the privilege of facilitating meetings for large groups and small, for executive audiences and individual contributors, for customers and sales, and at points of great success and at times of challenge. Most of the ideas presented through this article are about non-recurring meetings. You could use these same tools and approaches for recurring meetings. Bear in mind, some level of recurring meetings is going to be necessary to keep teams aligned.

Organizing an Effective Meeting

I structure my approach to meetings around four key questions:

• Why are you meeting?
• What problem are you trying to solve?
• Who should be invited to the meeting? (Who is required to solve this problem?)
• What are the roles of the attendees during the meeting?

Why are you meeting?

You have a responsibility to your organization and the participants of the meeting to have a clear understanding of why you are meeting.  What are the outcomes you want to achieve through the meeting?  Are the outcomes around collecting information for a decision, informing a group about a decision already made, sharing status of existing efforts, or centering groups around messaging or calls to action?

Decide if a meeting is the best vehicle for achieving the outcome you need to achieve. If you have to make a decision, decide the type of decision making process you are going to employ (Is this consultative or consensus decision making?  Are you just informing the attendees of a decision that is already made?).  If this is a data collection exercise like a status update meeting, does the status information exist somewhere else?  You can still have the meeting, but having the status already distilled and consumable may shorten the duration of the meeting.

What problem are you trying to solve?

Given the fact that you are spending your colleagues’ and organizations’ time, money, and resources to conduct the meeting, clearly state the problem you are trying to solve.  You can look at this with a very near-term focus, what objectives the meeting is intended to deliver.  Or you can look this with a longer-term focus, the meeting is key to achieving a longer-term set of outcomes that solve a problem key to organizational success.

Clearly identifying “the problem” you are trying to solve will empower the participants to stay focused during the meeting on the key objectives.  As a facilitator, this also allows you to rein in “off topic” discussions and debates without derailing your agenda.

When requesting someone’s attendance to a meeting, I like to include the problem statement and desired outcomes in the meeting invite.  Consider the three-sentence model in the meeting invite:

• What problem are we trying to solve?
• What are we intending to do to solve the problem?
• What do I need from you?

Clarifying “the problem” you are trying to solve and composing the invite around this model helps you tailor who should be invited to the meeting.

Who should be invited to the meeting?

Be aware that there are political undertones to a meeting’s invitee/attendee list.  Some people measure their worth based upon the number of meetings they are invited to attend.  Still others perceive meetings as a waste of their valuable time and an invite as a distraction from what is truly important.

Let me share the framework I employ for deciding who to invite to meetings.  Note this can an obvious selection, so I do this quickly in my head versus any formal documentation.

I employ a version of the RACI model to help me understand both the attendees and the expectations of their participation during the meeting.   Accountable persons are on the hook for the ultimate outcome.  This could be the outcome to that meeting or the outcome of the overall project or program for which we are working.  Responsible persons participate in the work effort that we are discussing.  Consulted persons are those that have information or opinions necessary for the decision process. Informed persons need to know the outcomes and decisions made, but are not Accountable for the outcomes, Responsible for the work effort, nor Consulted in the decision-making process.

By definition, I invite the Accountable and Consulted persons as they are necessary for decision making or key outcomes of the meeting.  I invite only the persons Responsible for specific actions that require status updates during the meeting. I send the summary to all members of the RACI, including those in the Informed category.

I do not invite the broader audience to the meetings as they can dilute the ability for the meeting to succeed, be focused, and be effective.  I had a mentor who used to say that every additional person you added to a meeting diluted the collective intelligence in half.

What are the expectations of the attendees during the meeting?

Taking this approach to architecting the attendee list clearly defines the expectations (Giver or Receiver of information) of attendees at various points in the meeting.

Those who are Accountable for the outcomes of the meeting, project, and program are Receivers during the meeting.  This is tough for people to understand, but if a person in authority is in a Giver role, they will easily dominate the opinions and discussions during the meeting.

Some people mask meetings so that the participants think they still have a say in the decision after a decision has been made.  The meeting is an attempt to “Drive consensus” in a non-consensus-based decision.  If the decision is already made, the meeting is about informing and aligning, not building consensus.

For those in Consulted roles, let them know specifically what we need from them during the meeting.  This allows them to be prepared to present their information during the meeting and answer questions based upon their point of view.

For those Responsible for key outcomes that are accomplished or supported by the meeting, encourage them to ask questions to inform their approach.  Ultimately, they must accept the outcomes and decisions of the meeting.  As a receiver, they can clarify decisions and solicit supporting information, but need to understand they are not the dominate player in the decision process.

Clarifying the expectations of attendees prior to the meeting will avoid much of the conflict that arises during typical meetings.  It also allows people to be more comfortable in their role by clarifying expectations of their contribution to the meeting.

Preparing for the meeting

As the meeting facilitator, take accountability for providing the attendees with the necessary prework they need to be effective during the meeting.  Providing a pre-meeting summary allows people to enter the meeting with a stronger “Informed” position.  This allows for more enlightened participation and shortens the duration of the meeting by reducing the amount of time allotted to informing the participants about progress and basic knowledge.  It also reduces the potential for off topic debates and discussions that can lead the meeting off track.

Publish the meeting agenda ahead of time.  Share the agenda with all participants and ensure that the Accountable parties are going to achieve what they want from the meeting.   This helps you manage the expectations for the meeting and streamlines the flow of the meeting itself.

For recurring meetings, establish an operating rhythm of expectations to control the flow.  For example, if your organization has weekly status meetings and the second week of the month is when invoices are sent out, have financial discussions that jibe with this timing.

Schedule your meeting for the best attendance.  My operating rhythm has most recurring meetings scheduled on Mondays and Fridays.    Never schedule meetings with vital decisions on Friday afternoons or Monday mornings.

Facilitating the Meeting

Facilitating the meeting when you have done the preparation outlined above will be much more straight forward compared to trying to make key decisions in ad hoc, poorly planned meetings.  But don’t forget the basics:

1. Clearly refer to the agenda and expected outcomes during the meeting. Cross items off as completed.
2. For decisions, make the decision-making process and decision owner clear before the discussion. (This is Mary’s ultimate decisions, but she needs your opinion to inform her choice)
3. Clarify expectations of participants at the point the meeting goes off track. (Joe is presenting his point of view. We don’t need to agree with it, but let’s give him the opportunity to present his POV.  You will be given an opportunity to present your own afterwards.)
4. Recognize Violent Agreement and Points of Contention, if possible move on. (So Eugene, it sounds like you are agreeing with the team. Let’s record this as a decision.    OR Mark, Beth, sounds like you have pretty strong conviction to differing points of view, can you discuss it offline and come back to the team with your common ground?)
5. Maintain a parking lot for off agenda discussions. (Sue, that is a great point but out of scope for this meeting. Let’s put that in the parking lot and follow up at a future meeting)
6. Empower participants with a model to share strong disagreement but let them know that they need to commit to the outcomes and decisions established during the meeting. (It is ok to disagree, but you are part of this team. What we decide from this meeting needs your support going forward.)

Summarize and Make the Meeting Actionable

After the meeting is complete, Document Action Items, Agreements, Parking Lot Items, and other Mandates that may have come out of the meeting.   Distribute this to attendees.  Thank the attendees for their courteous attendance and support.

To avoid re-opening debate or alienating dissenting points of view, only distribute the actions and agreements to those on the Informed list.

Follow up to ensure action items are completed and share status updates as necessary to the broader audience.

Why I Am Sharing

I have been in corporate America for more than 20 years.  I have attended well run meetings.  I have also attended many meetings that are at best sufficient.  If you have the chance to attend a C-Level or Board Level meeting, one thing you will notice is that they are very well organized and efficient.  Those participants are very busy, and their time is very expensive.  Why don’t we run all meetings mindful of these expectations?

Consider your obligation to attendees of your meetings.  Make the meeting effective and efficient.  Set high expectations for those attending and facilitate the meeting in such a way to ensure those expectations are met.

Meetings are necessary.  Let’s make them effective, focused, and ultimately successful.

Editorial Support Acknowledgment

Bill Elser and I worked together for much of the last 5 years.  Bill is a friend, colleague, and sounding board for the strange and wacky leadership ideas that bubble in my mind.  Bill and I have had many discussions on leadership style, mentoring, and team dynamics.  I value Bill’s opinion.

Bill’s editorial support on many of my blog posts have allowed me to focus on getting concept on paper.  Having strong confidence that Bill will review, edit, and make better the points that I am trying to convey.  Thanks Bill.

Bill is a champion of the fight against Asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and air pollution.  You can support Bill in his fight for this cause at Climb for Clean Air – Bill Elser

If you would like to know more about Bill, check out his LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/billelser/

Photo Attribution

The photos in this article come from Bing.com searches for images in the public domain and from the website startupstockphotos.com

If I have made an error in attribution please let me know.