What do you do if your executive meetings are becoming a time-wasting nightmare?

Meetings that require attendees need to have clarity in the agenda. It should be a consideration that each of the attendees have their order of priorities for their day. Clarifying the agenda ahead of meetings will save time and resources. The best meetings I have ever attended were clear and concise. The leadership team got their read-aheads, prior to the meetings. There were no sidebar conversations or topics that were previously answered via email. It was smooth, on track and everyone left with a clear understanding of what their goals were prior to the next briefing.

Here's what a meeting must have for you to accept it: 1. A crystal-clear goal - what will we achieve? 2. A realistic agenda - how will we achieve it? 3. Relevant attendees - who will help us achieve it? 4. Preparation - what to prep to achieve it? If any of these is missing, you can decline the meeting. Missing goal -> you'll walk in circles Overwhelming agenda -> you'll walk in circles Lack of preparation and relevant attendees -> you'll spend 2x as much time to achieve the goal or walk in circles

This is a far more nuanced question because it really depends on the culture of the organization. In a collaborative culture, you will often be roped into meetings where you might have very little to contribute, but your input might be appreciated. Therefore, having the clarity of what the expectations are from you before the meeting can really set the tone and impact you have within the allotted time (and can ultimately be the deciding factor if you attend or not). In a more strict and confined culture, where presence is more rewarding than contribution, you might have a hard time excusing yourself, regardless of the agenda. This would require you to drive change internally to ensure everyone utilizes their time more effectively.

It's crucial to focus on efficiency and relevance. Start by setting clear objectives for each meeting, ensuring that the agenda is distributed in advance. Keep the attendee list limited to those directly involved or impacted by the topics at hand, to avoid unnecessary participation. Encourage concise contributions and consider allocating specific time slots for each agenda item to prevent overrun. Employing these strategies can transform meetings from time-wasting nightmares into productive sessions.

I like to think of it as a football team: 1. Select who plays 2. Select who can play (bench...) 3. Select a captain (who leads) 4. Assign the rest of the roles 5. Assign the preparation

In executive meetings, the General Manager makes the final decisions, but these decisions should be endorsed by the team after thorough discussion and individual input. To streamline meetings and avoid routine, assign roles such as timekeeper, scribe, and conscience on a rotational basis. The timekeeper ensures adherence to the agenda, the scribe documents key points and actions, and the conscience maintains alignment with the company’s values. Rotating these roles enhances engagement and deepens each member's understanding of the meeting dynamics.

enhance contribution, encourage active participation by assigning specific roles to attendees based on their expertise or responsibilities. This ensures diverse perspectives are considered and increases the likelihood of valuable insights being shared.

Clarify decision-making roles and responsibilities for each agenda item to streamline discussions and avoid ambiguity. Designate decision-makers or decision-making criteria upfront to expedite the decision-making process and prevent unnecessary delays.

Meetings often become time time-wasting nightmares when there's no planning, agenda, or clear direction of the destination. Going after things haphazardly with no action item and planning for improvement will waste plenty of time for both the organizers and the participants. The best way to keep things short but effective is to have a clear agenda for the meeting (also communicated to all the stakeholders/participants), the shortcomings in each area should be highlighted and communicated already, and based on which action items should be decided with the follow-up timelines. Having a clear agenda, knowing the areas of improvement, and planning & executing the action items accordingly will make the meetings short and highly effective.

The agenda planning have some fix points: Thigst to be discussed Things to be clarified Things to do with deadline and responsible for that

When creating a meeting one should clearly stipulate the agenda of the meeting and the open action items of the previous meeting so that participants come prepared for the meeting and it doesn't turn out to be a disaster. Participants should consider each and every argument seriously even if the point is unrelated or doesn't hold merit so that there is positive environment in the meeting

First, I take a step back and assess the situation. I ask myself: - What's the purpose of the meeting? - Are the right people attending? - Is the agenda clear and concise? Next, I suggest a few adjustments to get things back on track: - Refine the meeting's objective and ensure everyone understands what we aim to achieve. - Limit the attendee list to only those who absolutely need to be there. - Establish a strict agenda and stick to it . - Set clear expectations for preparation and pre-work to ensure everyone comes prepared. - Introduce a "parking lot" for side topics that can be addressed outside the meeting. - Assign action items and accountability to ensure progress.

Another helpful idea - create a chart for each milestone broken down to tasks. Who is responsible for it and who is a contributor to the process. There should be a distinction between owners of a task and those who need to take part in it (including deadlines) - otherwise people just assume shared responsibility and don't always act. For C -level executives - the problem is reaching a decision, so next steps would often be acquiring more data or details - again, a specific owner should do that.

In my experience as a Product Manager on an agile team, our Project Manager served as our timekeeper, which proved highly beneficial. She not only ensured that our meetings ran efficiently but also followed up on any unfinished discussions. As a timekeeper, it's crucial to incorporate the right amount of time for questions and follow-up discussions, ensuring that the meeting stays on track. Remember, it's not impolite to table a conversation if it's not relevant to the meeting's objectives. Additionally, sticking to the agenda is key; while the team may become passionate about certain topics, gently reminding them of the meeting's purpose helps maintain focus and productivity.

Timekeepers, often also the scribes/notetakers for a meeting, are some of the most important roles in meetings. Playing this role, however, can become a point of contention if not everyone in the room is aligned on what the role entails. Agree on a common language and template for timekeeper redirects, note taking, and other herding techniques. Vary the individual in the role on a regular cycle (as many timekeepers find themselves too busy maintaining pace to contribute as frequently as others in the room), and ensure that all can view notes as they are taken so retroactive reviews of meeting minutes and topics are not misrepresented. The sooner you realize the importance of the timekeeper role, the better your meetings will be.

Designate a timekeeper to monitor and manage the meeting's progress and adherence to the agenda. Set time limits for agenda items and enforce them to prevent discussions from veering off track or running over time. Encourage participants to stay focused and respectful of everyone's time.

Start by summarizing the key discussion points and decisions made during the meeting. Use bullet points or numbered lists to organize information in a clear and easy-to-read format. Clearly outline the action items assigned during the meeting, along with deadlines for completion. Specify who is responsible for each task to ensure accountability. Use actionable language and be specific about what needs to be done to avoid confusion or ambiguity. Invite recipients to provide feedback or ask questions if they need clarification on any topics discussed. Encourage an open dialogue to address any concerns or issues that may have arisen during the meeting.

Establish a systematic follow-up process to ensure that decisions made during the meeting are implemented and progress is tracked effectively. Circulate meeting minutes or a summary of key decisions and action items promptly after the meeting, and provide regular updates on action item status.

To ensure meetings run as efficiently as possible, it's important to periodically reflect on the meeting structure. Begin by evaluating the objectives of the meeting and whether the current format effectively supports these goals. Ask questions such as: Are the objectives clearly defined and communicated to participants? Is the agenda well-structured and followed closely? Are meetings starting and ending on time? Solicit feedback from participants to gauge their satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. Utilize this feedback to iterate and adapt the meeting structure as needed, experimenting with different formats or facilitation techniques.

Conduct regular evaluations of executive meetings to solicit feedback from participants and identify areas for improvement. Assess meeting effectiveness, efficiency, and participant engagement, and make adjustments to meeting processes or structures as needed to enhance outcomes.

I am 100% agree with Rabia K. Ensure productive executive meetings by setting clear objectives and agendas to stay focused on your company goals. Define decision-making roles for your clients and most immortally your employees and assign action items for accountability. Efficiently make decisions with designated decision-makers and not imposed anything you have think this is right in your sense decision. Keep meetings on track with clear objectives, roles, and action items.

Ensure productive executive meetings by setting clear objectives and agendas to stay focused. Define decision-making roles and assign action items for accountability. Efficiently make decisions with designated decision-makers. Keep meetings on track with clear objectives, roles, and action items.

Reduce all meetings to 30 min, ensure there is a 15 min gap between each meeting, prepare an agenda, clearly differentiate the purpose of the meetings, encourage dialogue. Use collaboration tools, instead of meetings have everyone working together.

Consider alternatives to traditional meetings, such as asynchronous communication or shorter, more focused sessions, to address specific topics or decisions more efficiently. Encourage a culture of respect, collaboration, and active participation among executive team members to foster constructive and productive meetings. Additionally, prioritize strategic discussions and decision-making at executive meetings, while delegating operational or routine matters to other forums or channels.

Executive meetings must clearly define the need to call for such a meeting. Ensure that only urgent and important topics/issues are to be discussed without digressing. Send thru email the agenda and get inputs.. if necessary for further discussion, call for a meeting. Keep in mind KISS.. keep it short and simple.. see to it that the meeting starts on the dot and to finish within the allocated time