How to run a more effective meeting

Do you ever wish that you could spend more time in meetings? I can just hear you screaming your response to me. I’m sure it sounds something like, “HELL NO!”

We all spend way too much time in meetings.

The problem is that our meetings are typically poorly run and poorly managed.

But today, I am not going to tell you how to create an agenda or teach you meeting facilitation skills. You can Google a solution to those problems.

Today, I want to share with you a common mistake that leaders make that is rarely discussed.

The problem is that we waste time talking about the past.

I have witnessed so many meetings that start by discussing last week’s results, last week’s actions, or last week’s accomplishments. Please stop making this mistake. It is inefficient and wastes time. Last week is now in the past.

Your focus needs to be on this week’s goals and objectives.

If you legitimately need an update on last week’s progress, please ask your team to update a spreadsheet with that information. ?Ask everyone to review this spreadsheet before your weekly check-in meeting.

If you really must, put the spreadsheet on a screen and ask people to spend one minute reading any relevant updates. That’s it. I’ll give you just one minute to go back in time. Okay?

I want you to spend less time in meetings. I want you to spend more time making progress on your goals and coaching your team.

One way to accomplish this is to get everyone focused on THIS WEEK!

So, start your team meetings by asking your team, “What are your goals this week?”

Now, that’s a productive way to start a meeting!