Meet Together and Win Together: Running Meetings - Skills Series #5
- adelarcarrillo
- Feb 19, 2025
- 2 min read
Meetings can be intimidating, as any team or communication activity can be, but they are also a science that can be perfected. As reported by the Harvard Business Review, executives spend about 23 hours a week in meetings, which is more than 50% of a traditional 40-hour workweek. It is no secret that such meetings are draining and often unproductive. This post isn't the final say on how to run meetings but merely a few tips to improve each gathering and produce better ideas and outcomes.
Build a healthy team culture - this initial step is important because it allows people to bring their authentic selves and creativity to the meetings. This can be done by setting community agreements and values.
Set attainable and sufficient goals - without a direction meetings shooting in the dark will last much longer and not end with something to show. Goals need to be specific and have an action plan.
Set an agenda and follow it - A good agenda contains talking points (sometimes recaps and looking forward), point people, and action items. It is important to annotate and take notes on the progression of the meeting. Keeping the agenda visible to everyone, through a screen or a handout will keep everyone on track with the help of a facilitator. The facilitator makes sure notes are being taken, everything on the agenda is hit, and done promptly.
Allow everyone to participate by stepping forward and stepping back - Facilitators also ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute, this sometimes means people need to be prompted and other people need to be aware of how much space they are taking up. This is a balancing act and politeness needs to be a priority.
Meet often - long and unproductive meetings can be mitigated by keeping the team connected and meeting as often as necessary so catching up doesn't take too much time. Check-in meetings can supplement brainstorming meetings and vary in time.
Embrace diversity and different perspectives - various perspectives and experiences are instrumental in business and meetings. This means creating a welcoming environment and a broad selection of individuals.
Avoid Groupthink - anytime groups get together there is a risk of a "follow the leader" situation and negative ideas can make it farther than they should because people are afraid to speak up or think that other people know better.
Lastly build a consensus and wrap up - coming to a shared conclusion is vital for a lot of meetings. All voices need to be heard and everyone should leave on the same page. Following up the meeting with notes and a set date for the next convergence is a good practice.
I hope that these tips will help you run better meetings and allow your teams to realize their full potential. You do not have to be a manager to execute or suggest these ideas or make changes in your organization, small steps can make a huge difference and individuals often have more power than they think.
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