Meeting expectations? How to improve the meetings you plan and attend.

Let's stop meeting!?

Ok, so when I say stop meeting I don't actually mean stop collaborating, co-designing, talking and planning. Working as a team with clear communication is the most important aspect of getting anything done with any chance of accuracy and success.?But there really has to be more time and effort spent on planning those collaborative meetings nowadays to ensure that they are 100% worthwhile. I say this because...?

THANKS TO TECHNOLOGY, MEETINGS ARE?FAR TOO EASY TO ORGANISE AND ATTEND.

So what does the ideal meeting look like??

In my experience, the perfect meeting should be like a football manager’s half time talk. It should get all attendees firing and driven for a mutually understood joint purpose. Everyone knows when and where the meeting is going to be. There’s guaranteed full attendance, by the right attendees that know why they’re there, all working together to understand what they need to keep doing that’s working well and what new actions they need to take in the next half to get the result they all desperately want. All attendees can and should contribute. The meeting chair (the football manager in this analogy) wants them all there, discussing, sharing and planning together in a safe space with high trust and mutual respect where all voices are equally heard.?

Every meeting can and should be like this.?

If you’re a meeting organiser, prep for it like you would a half time talk or with the rigour of a job interview and you’ll leave attendees in no doubt what the core messages are. Every meeting should be used like an opportunity. Like a weapon. A chance to make an impact and get results. Attendees can and should leave all meetings motivated to achieve a clear objective and each and every attendee should be fully aware of their personal responsibilities to make it happen.?

Are all meetings like this? Well…no.

The meeting faux pas?

Before reading on, cast your mind back over the last month and ask yourself the following questions.?

How many meetings did you attend where...

• you weren't clear what your role, responsibility and potential output was expected to be from your attendance?
• worse still, you weren't clear what the overall purpose of the meeting was in advance of attending, no clear agenda, no clear purpose, no call to action, and a discussion with a random cast of characters all thinking the same thing?
• even worse again, after 1 or 2 hours of attending said meeting, YOU STILL WEREN'T CLEAR what the meeting was about, what everyone was discussing, why it was important, what the next steps were going to be and who indeed was actually going to do anything?
• you attended because it sounded important, then after 10 minutes it dawned on you that? it actually wasn't important for you to be there, but you stayed for the full duration anyway "out of politeness" or "just in case" something relevant came up for you?
• you had it in your diary as a meeting series, because at some point (probably 5 months ago or more) the meeting series had a real drive and clear purpose, but now in each meeting there's not much to update on and there's no agendas or action trackers but - because the series is in diaries and it has become a habit for everyone - we're still meeting anyway...
• you’ve been called into “an urgent discussion” but it actually transpires that it’s only urgent for one person's needs, and this person didn’t follow a process some weeks ago which would have prevented the now urgent scenario. Even worse, this is nowhere near urgent in your own priority list where far more important things need to be progressed.
• you’re advised with three minutes notice that the meeting you were due to attend (and had prepared for) is now cancelled. This is often sent with a “you’ll be pleased to hear…”, or “you’ve got time back!” Etc. Etc. But guess what? You're not grateful. The rest of your day and week looks like you're losing at Tetris to accommodate that meeting in the first place and you'd have much rather had a better managed week of more evenly distributed meetings than a random last minute spare 2 hours. After your 2 hour surprise free time is over you’ve still got the remaining week of crammed meeting hell to contend with that’s simply too late to re-organise.?

There's far more examples I'm sure of those frustrating meeting scenarios, but I just thought I'd share a few of my own personal bugbears before I get into solutions mode.

Fix your meeting effectiveness with these 7 tips!

The BCS has produced some great guidance on meeting effectiveness which I like to think I've taken, added my own spin on the recommendations and almost 100% certainly made better as a result.?

So before you go about organising your next meeting, here are my top tips for making it as effective, productive and useful as possible:

1. Stop and think...is the meeting actually necessary? Can you get the desired outcome through an email, a Teams chat, a quick one to one or.... through more effective use of one of your many existing meetings in your diary by adding an item to an existing agenda?
2. Speaking of agendas...ALWAYS set an agenda. Back in the day when organising meetings before MS Teams became the default mode, you had the logistical issues of booking meeting rooms, kicking out and cleaning up after previous occupants, ensuring enough seats were available, getting teas and coffees ready (and commissioning search party services to find the teaspoons), and ensuring there were enough printed handouts. With meetings across multiple physical locations, you wouldn't make a 1 hour plus car journey for a meeting where you weren't sure what the purpose was. At least I certainly don't remember doing so! Agendas used to be fundamental to gain an audience at your meeting. A clear purpose was also absolutely essential in ensuring colleagues would prioritise your meeting and commit their time and effort to attend. Need something completed by a colleague who's had an outstanding action for too long? Give them an agenda item to present a progress update to the rest of the group. You won't be waiting much longer for that action to be completed! It's all in the power of the agenda design. By setting a clear agenda with a clear purpose for ALL of the meetings you arrange, you are demonstrating good practice. You aren't taking peoples' time for granted and you're not falling into the common trap of assuming people should turn up just because they can. Set that clear agenda, with clear aims of what the meeting is trying to achieve and why specific invitees are being asked to attend. This goes for 1-1 supervision meetings too. With a clear framework in place that shows 2-way support, focuses on individual wellbeing as well as giving ample structured opportunities for escalations for your support, you're creating a real joint purpose and supportive supervision meeting. ?
3. Think about why each attendee is being invited before inviting them! It sounds simple right? But it's often not actually thought about enough. Attendees need to be carefully selected before you click the invite button. Active collaborators and decision-makers that can contribute should be invited, those that you want to attend "just for awareness" really should be kept to a distribution list of an outcome briefing, a set of minutes, an action tracker or a newsletter update. By carefully curating your attendees you're saving hours of diary time that can help your colleagues remain as productive as possible with sufficient thinking time and wellbeing breaks planned into their day. To be blunt, for every attendee you invite to one of your meetings that didn't contribute, took no actions, made no decisions and heard no relevant information, you have wasted time, efficiency and productivity and adversely impacted the wellbeing of that colleague by preventing them from taking the breaks or progressing their priority work in the time spent stuck in your poorly planned meeting. ?
4. Schedule your meetings carefully!?Don't set meetings that trample all over those lunchtimes, school run times or prayer times. Watch out for bank holidays for those meeting series invites and get them tidied up and cancelled. If you’ve put a “hold for meeting” in diaries and the date is no longer required, get it cancelled out of the calendar. If you need attendees and you need a successful outcome, put the meeting in at a time that will help the maximum outputs and outcomes to be achieved. My personal experience shows that 10am meetings are a sweet spot for maximum focus and attendance, however, BCS recommends afternoon meetings for greater productivity and focus. Either way, be considerate, and pick your time slots tailored to the availability of those you need in your session and (as per above faux pas) absolutely do not cancel last minute for no reason and expect to be congratulated for it.?
5. Break times! If your meeting absolutely has to go on for more than an hour, make sure you schedule some wellbeing time for refreshment and comfort breaks. Shorter meetings hold the attention. It's true! So when planning your agendas and chairing your meetings, make sure that they are as short, sharp, well planned and focussed as possible to get the most traction and maximise the opportunity for those welcomed, rejuvenating, morale boosting screen breaks.?
6. Summarise at the end of each of your meetings. If you can't easily summarise the key points, and the key outcomes and next steps from your meeting, you really have to question what has been achieved in your time spent together. A meeting that's effectively planned, structured and executed will be an absolute doddle to summarise the key actions, decisions and next steps. Meetings are about fostering a group of collaborators, crafting teamwork opportunities. A solid summary ensures that teamwork will continue outside of the meeting with all attendees fired up to see what's been discussed become a future reality.
7. Keep learning and keep asking for feedback!?Ask attendees of your meeting if they felt their attendance was appropriate and relevant. You shouldn't be afraid to check with all attendees if they found the meeting useful. This is also a really useful way of checking that they are committed to the purpose and aims of the meeting before assuming they're appropriate for invitation to your next meeting (if indeed there needs to be one!)?

You can also improve the quality of meetings you didn’t organise, here’s how…

First you need to be more selfish and expect more from the meetings you attend! If you’re invited to a meeting that falls into one of my meeting faux pas examples (or one of your own) or it doesn’t adhere to the 7 tips… DECLINE IT.?This will help improve your own diary management, wellbeing and productivity. Also, if the meeting is really that important, you’ll be invited again and you can use this as an opportunity to work with the organisers to help improve the meeting effectiveness.?

For meetings to which you’re invited that don’t adhere to the potential quality standards we're expecting, use the crib sheet below to start encouraging those 7 meeting planning tips to become a reality. If more individuals practiced the below responses, I firmly believe we’d all see better, more focussed, more efficient, more purposeful and more productive meetings and a happier workforce:

• A Meeting invite with no agenda, and no idea? DECLINE.?“I’m sorry but I’m unable to attend this meeting. Can you please advise why I’m required and what the meeting is for as I may be able to re-arrange or get a colleague to attend.”

• A Meeting invite with an agenda but not clear what your input would be and if you are the right person to support the meeting purpose? TENTATIVE.?“Could you please advise what’s required from me in this meeting? Are you in need of my input in a specific area?” If nothing is forthcoming that aligns with your priorities, DECLINE.?

• A Meeting that is part of an ongoing series where the purpose has been eviscerated? TENTATIVE.?“could you please advise if you still require my attendance in this meeting and if there is an up to date agenda and action tracker I can review please?”
• A Meeting that’s been cancelled with less than an hour’s notice? REPLY. “could you please avoid cancelling at short notice again in the future as I’ve planned the rest of my activities around attending this meeting. For example, my last meeting of the day currently ends at 17:30 when it didn’t have to had I known this meeting wasn’t going to take place further in advance.”

• A Meeting that conflicts with something equally important or a personal priority like prayer time or school pick up? DECLINE. “I’m sorry, I cannot attend today’s session. Was there something specific you needed me for? Or would a colleague attending be helpful? If so, please advise via email what’s required, or record the meeting so I can view it back at a later date if required.”?Be brave! Stop trying to attend everything you’ve been invited to at your own expense.?

• A Meeting you’ve joined that seems far less relevant than you first envisaged from the initial agenda? Is your continued presence in the meeting putting time pressure on other priorities you have for that day? Don’t wait for the meeting to end, just message in the chat “I’m sorry, I’m going to have to leave to attend another pressing matter. Please pass on any areas for my attention after the meeting.”

Let me know if you think of any others!

Thanks for attending my blog about meetings, here's my summary and our agreed next steps

If you're still reading, then thanks for staying with me in this blog “meeting” until the very end. There’ll be no AOB, but I will be following my own advice… so here's my summary and next steps that I think we should all be taking before we meet again.

• Follow the 7 tips when planning your own meetings. No exceptions! Your meeting attendees deserve better and it’s not difficult to achieve a better organised meeting with even just ten minutes of prep time.?

• When invited to a meeting that doesn’t seem clear, manage the expectations of the organiser, decline it and explain why, or state you’re tentative until more clarity can be gained on what the purpose of the meeting is and why your involvement is essential.?

If you agree with this blog and put some of this advice into practice, we can improve the quality of the meetings we attend. One meeting at a time!