Finding A New Way To Meet

     Team meetings can be productive and exciting. Unfortunately, too many organizations meet for the wrong reasons or have simply fallen into a going-through-the-motions meeting style. By implementing a few simple tools, you can breathe life back into your meetings.

No One Knows Who's Making The Decisions

     So your meeting is nearly over, you've discussed everything on the agenda, and you're ready to send everyone on their way. Unfortunately, no one is quite clear about what they're supposed to be doing or who is going to make that decision. "As the leader, you don't have to be the one making all of the decisions, but you do have to make sure the decision-making process is clear to everyone," says Kimberly Douglas, author of The Firefly Effect: Build Teams That Capture Creativity and Catapult Results. 

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     Decide what the best decision-making process is at the beginning of the meeting based on the criticality of the decision, time constraints, and the need for buy-in. "Whatever decision-making method you choose, make sure everyone understands who will be making the final decision from the get-go," says Douglas. "The quickest way for a leader to lose his team's respect is for him to make a decision that his team thought they would be making. If you just want your team's input and will be making the final decision on your own, let them know that ahead of time. They will be happy to weigh in and will feel good that you respect and want their opinions."

No Decisions, Commitments, Or Next Steps Are Captured

     Too often, meetings end and everyone simply goes back to business as usual without putting anything that was discussed in the meeting into action, or without even knowing what they should do. There is no simpler way to record what went on than by writing on a flip chart the who, what, and by when of the directives discussed in the meeting. 

     "Do a round robin with everyone recapping what they are accountable for delivering," says Douglas. "Always distribute a brief meeting summary within 24 hours of the meeting. The meeting summary will reinforce to everyone that results are expected." 

No Meeting Evaluations Are Performed

     For many organizations, meetings have simply become something that employees feel like they have to get through. They think that all they need to do is sit through the meeting, and then they can get back to the task at hand. A great way to ensure that this isn't the mindset of those in your organization's meetings is to conduct meeting evaluations.

A great strategy is to do a process check at least once during a meeting. Have everyone assess the four Ps: 

·         Progress. Are we achieving our goals?

·         Pace. Are we moving too fast or too slowly?

·         Process. Are we using the right tools/methods?

·         Pulse. How is everyone feeling-frustrated, satisfied, energized?

"The process check will allow you an opportunity to get everything back on track if the meeting isn't going as planned, says Douglas. "Don't look at meeting evaluations as a throwaway step. They are key to ensuring that your meetings are consistently well-organized and productive."

     Source: Kimberly Douglas, SPHR, is president of FireFly Facilitation, Inc., a firm specializing in the design and facilitation of high-impact initiatives, including leadership team effectiveness and strategic planning. She has facilitated results for over 25 years in a broad cross-section of industries and organizations, including Coca-Cola, AT&T, Home Depot, UPS, and the U.S. Marine Corps. Douglas is the author of The Firefly Effect published last year.