9 Things Good Leaders Never Do When
Running a Meeting
Sometimes, what you don't do matters even more
than what you do.
The next time you're in a meeting, mentally add up the hourly
rates of everyone in the room.
Then factor in the opportunity cost for what every person could
be achieving instead of sitting and listening to Stewart from distribution as
he describes the relative merits of single-wall and double-wall cartons.
Then factor in what you could be doing instead.
(Makes you wonder why you ever have meetings, doesn't it?)
Still, sometimes you do need to
meet -- so when you run your next meeting, use this list as your guide to
what not to do.
1. Don't be a slave to clock conventions.
We all think in round numbers. We can't help it. Besides, our
calendars are set up in 30- or 60-minute chunks. We're programmed to expect
things to start and end at certain times, say, 10:30 or 9 or 3:30 --
"round" numbers.
So the meeting that starts at 9 is usually scheduled until 9:30,
even if you only really need 10 minutes to make a decision. It's like the
bigger-house syndrome: After you buy a bigger house, you somehow manage to fill
it with furniture, even though you don't need any more furniture.
Plus, there's the "just in case" factor: We'll already
have everyone together, so let's schedule a little extra time, just in case.
And what always happens? You fill the time.
Instead, decide ahead of time how long a meeting should last
solely on the basis of what you need to accomplish -- and nothing more. Then
schedule the time accordingly. Tell everyone the meeting will end on time no
matter what.
Then stick to it. It'll be tough at first, but people will
quickly adapt and be a lot more focused and productive.
And consider starting a 12-minute meeting at, say, 9:18. Then it
can still end on a round number, and the people who crave convention can feel
like their world still makes some sense.
2. Don't bother meeting at a "neutral site."
Meetings aren't about words; meetings are about action. Great
meetings solve problems, set new courses, create action plans. Great meetings
result in tangible outcomes.
So why would you ever want to
meet in a conference room when no product, no service, no nothing is
ever produced in a conference room?
Meet where the action is --- at the site of the problem or
opportunity. Don't sit in a room and stare at one another when you can focus on
the issue you're trying to fix.
Get up, get out, get your hands dirty, and focus on the actual
-- not the intangible.
3. Don't include information in your agenda.
No agenda should include the
words information, recap, review, or discussion.
Great meetings often have agendas that are no more than one
sentence, like "Determine the product launch date" or "Select
software developer for database redesign."
Information? Share it before the meeting. If I need to make a
decision during a meeting, shouldn't I have the information I need to make that
decision ahead of time? Send documents, reports, etc., to participants in
advance.
Holding a meeting to share information is unproductive and
wastes everyone's time--it's lazy.
4. Don't allow people to "think out loud."
If anyone in a meeting says, "I'm just thinking out loud
... " cut them off. Immediately.
Why? Their thoughts should already be together. They should show
up with concrete ideas based on the information you provided ahead of time.
Don't let people muse aloud about the half-baked concepts they want to share
just because they feel they have to participate, or because they want to seem
smart.
If it's a brainstorming session, fine. Otherwise, expect people
to come prepared with fully formed thoughts.
5. Don't be penny polite and pound rude.
It happens all the time. A few people get to the meeting early,
and one starts chatting with the person who will lead the meeting. The room
fills and it's time to start, but their conversation isn't over, so the team
leader keeps chatting for a few minutes so he won't seem rude. (Or he's in love
with his own voice.)
And everyone else sits and waits and waits until they're done.
Chat all you want beforehand, but when it's time to start,
start. Say, "We need to get started, so I'll catch up with you
later," and start the meeting on time.
6. Don't fail to establish accountability.
Great meetings result in decisions, but a decision isn't a
decision if someone doesn't carry it out. Say what. Say who. Say when.
Never let ownership be fuzzy or unclear. An action item without
a clear owner is like an orphan -- it's someone else's responsibility.
Which means it quickly becomes no one's responsibility.
7. Don't publish a lengthy recap.
Meeting recaps should only include action items. State what was
decided, what will be done, who is responsible for doing it, when it will be
done, and nothing else.
Never include items like, "Discussed possibility of
reorganizing departmental responsibilities." If all you did was discuss
reorganization, then 1) shame on you for not making a decision, and 2)
including a "discussion" in a recap implies that group discussions
that don't result in decisions are worthwhile.
Don't give general discussions credibility by including them in
a meeting recap. People might start thinking general discussions have value.
Where meetings are concerned, they don't.
8. Don't follow up as a group.
Assigning accountability means specific individuals are
responsible, not the team as a whole.
So don't meet with the entire team to check on progress. Don't
waste everyone else's time. Meet with the people responsible. Follow up
individually.
If you like, the people responsible can send progress emails to
the rest of the group. But don't get the group together just so everyone else
can hear about what's been done.
Once you're off and running, the only time you need to meet
again is when further decisions need to be made, or when you want to celebrate
success and praise the people who deserve recognition.
9. Don't meet just to promote "team
cohesion."
Team members do need to work well together. But they don't need
to hang out together or "bond" to work well together.
Great business relationships are created when people work
together toward a common goal and are able to count on one another to do their
part, meet commitments, get things done -- in short, to produce tangible
outcomes and achieve meaningful goals.
Otherwise, the relationship is more interpersonal than
productive.
It's your job to build a productive team. Let your employees
establish interpersonal relationships on their own time.
Don't worry. They will.
By Jeff Haden
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/first-90-days-the-most-successful-leaders-never-do-these-things-in-meetings.html
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