Awful Meetings

Leaders consistently rate their own meetings much more positively than attendees do. When managers assume their meetings are going smoothly, they are less likely to solicit feedback and seek opportunities to improve. As a result, frustrations that attendees experience don’t get fixed (irrelevant agenda items, unnecessarily long duration, lack of focus), leaving employees disgruntled and disengaged.
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Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Steven G. Rogelberg, Chancellor’s Professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and author of The Surprising Science of Meetings, helps managers improve their meeting skills. Among his tips: 

• Assessment:  Take a few minutes after each meeting you run to reflect on attendee behavior, conversational dynamics, and content that was covered. Were people distracted? Conducting side conversations? Did you do most of the talking? Consider inviting attendees to offer advice so you can identify your meeting strengths and weaknesses and create a plan for improvement.
• Preparation:  When it comes to meetings, especially regularly scheduled ones, people tend to show up and wing it.  Before a meeting, force yourself to make deliberate choices:  What will be covered; who should attend; what is the best time and place? Doing the same thing every time can cause attendees to “glaze over.” 
• Facilitation:  People often view meetings as interruptions of their “real work.” To mitigate such an attitude, greet people at the door and express gratitude for their time. Begin with a purposeful opening statement explaining why you have gathered. As the conversation gets under way, adopt a stewardship mindset, asking questions, engaging others, modeling active listening, drawing out concerns, and managing conflicts.
• Reassessment:  Even when managers proactively diagnose their meeting problems and learn to better prepare for and facilitate the gatherings they lead, there will undoubtedly be room for continuous improvement. And so the process begins again. 

What have you done to improve the caliber of team meetings? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. 

If you would like to learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication, visit our online learning programs.  

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