Improve Your Meetings
Meetings don’t have to be a drain. In a study of over 19 million meetings, Doodle found that poorly organized meetings will cost the US $399 billion in 2019. This same study found that 72% of meeting participants place high value on clear meeting objectives, along with 67% saying they need a clear agenda. Unfortunately, 89% of professionals report spending time in ineffective or poorly organized meetings. How do we get so far down the ineffective meeting path?
More than likely, most of us are meeting just to meet. Maybe it’s a committee that is no longer serving a productive purpose, but no one is willing to challenge the committee’s function. Perhaps you lead a work team focused on a special project and have regular update meetings, even though you suspect most of the updates can be communicated via email. Maybe you lead a large team and think bringing everyone together will support transparency and collaboration, though no clear outcomes or actions come out of your standing meetings.
If you find yourself going through the meeting motions, it could be time to assess the current state and make some meeting improvements.
More than likely, most of us are meeting just to meet. Maybe it’s a committee that is no longer serving a productive purpose, but no one is willing to challenge the committee’s function. Perhaps you lead a work team focused on a special project and have regular update meetings, even though you suspect most of the updates can be communicated via email. Maybe you lead a large team and think bringing everyone together will support transparency and collaboration, though no clear outcomes or actions come out of your standing meetings.
If you find yourself going through the meeting motions, it could be time to assess the current state and make some meeting improvements.