4 Easy Ways To Kill It With Effective Meetings
Many effective meetings by small businesses derail and outcomes fall short by not delegating.
It takes fore-thought, timing and preparation to execute an effective meeting and many questions need to be addressed prior to scheduling a meeting.
1. Pre-planning for effective meetings- ask and address the following:
- What’s the objective of the meeting? Is the meeting absolutely necessary?
- What’s the intended meeting outcome?
- Who’s a must to attend the meeting?
- How long should the meeting be?
- What’s the meeting agenda?
- What materials will be presented?
Even with all the above throughly vetted and addressed, many potentially effective meetings fail due to a group mentality. Without delegation it’s likely the ultimate goal of the meeting and its intended outcome will fail.
2. Delegation is the key to using your time wisely
- Many companies make the mistake of scheduling meetings to try to get work done as a group.
- A better strategy is to use meeting time to delegate how work will get done outside of the meeting and who is responsible for each task.
- Following this process will significantly reduce time spent in meetings while boosting productivity and morale.
3. After the Meeting
Nothing happens without a meeting. And often, nothing happens at a meeting. But a good meeting will outline what’s going to happen after the meeting, who’s responsible for making it happen, and when. And that’s how business happens.
Many companies make the mistake of scheduling meetings to try to get work done as a group.
The problem with this strategy is that for most teams, efficient work is difficult to orchestrate with everyone in the room. With too many chefs in the kitchen, time gets wasted debating the nitty gritty of every task, and rather than walking out having actually achieving something together, more often than not the meeting concludes with plans to continue the same work in a future meeting.
And the cycle continues.
4. Shore up effective meetings
For most businesses, a better strategy is to use meeting time to delegate how work is going to get done outside of the meeting setting.
The meeting leader should begin by outlining the objective of the meeting for example.
To determine a plan for completing XYZ task by date, the meeting agenda (which should ideally be written out and shared in advance) should progress methodically through each area of work that needs to be addressed, allowing time for team members to decide who will be responsible for each task and by what deadline.
To conclude the meeting, the leader should review a written list of Action Items to follow on after the meeting to everyone at the meeting to eliminate any confusion about who is responsible for what.
By using meetings to establish a plan and clearly define ownership of each task, work can be completed more effectively outside the meeting, with team members splitting into smaller groups or returning to their individual desks to focus on their assigned tasks.
Following this process cans help your business significantly reduce time spent in meetings while simultaneously boosting your team’s overall productivity and morale.
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