TGA: A Powerful Tool to Keep Meeting Participants Focused

Have you ever attended a meeting where you had no idea beforehand what the meeting was about?

Have you ever attended a meeting you felt had no value and?was a total waste of your time?

Have you ever been in a meeting where your presence added nothing to the meeting and you wondered why you had to be there?

Have you ever attended a meeting where you expected certain outcomes to be achieved, but they weren’t?

Finally, have you ever been in a meeting where critical decisions needed to be made, but the people who had the authority to make the decisions were not in attendance?

What Participants Want to?Know in Advance of a Meeting

Most people spend a lot of hours in meetings they did not need to attend. They also attend meetings?where the objectives and outcomes of the meeting were far different than what was expected going in. People want to?know beforehand whether or not a meeting will have value. That way they can choose more carefully which meetings they will attend.

An oft-overlooked aspect of meeting management is the fact that potential attendees have many questions that must be answered?prior?to a meeting in order to determine the value of one’s attendance at the meeting. For example, potential attendees want to know:

• What is the purpose of the?meeting?
• What are we going to talk about?
• What outcomes do we hope to achieve?
• Do I really need to be there?
• If I attend the meeting, should I bring someone else with me, or should I send someone else in my place?
• Who else is going to be in the meeting?
• What do I need to do to prepare for the meeting?
• What do I need to bring to the meeting?
• How long will the meeting last?

Good meeting leaders know attendees have these questions prior to the meeting, so they provide the answers to the questions upfront in a pre-meeting announcement that is sent out with the invitation to attend the meeting.

Developing a?TGA

Whenever I host a meeting, I address the participants’ pre-meeting concerns in a format I call a?TGA. I send out a TGA in advance of every meeting so people know who should attend, why they should attend, and what will be accomplished during the meeting.

TGA stands for Topic, Goals, and?Agenda.

A TGA is a pre-meeting announcement that informs the participants of the topic of the meeting, the goals to be accomplished during the meeting, and the agenda items that will ensure the topic is addressed fully?with the goals accomplished.??????

As stated above, the first thing people want to know about a proposed meeting is its purpose. Too often, the stated meeting purpose is vague.

For example, I recently was invited to attend a meeting at a client company. “What is the purpose of the meeting?” I asked.

“We need to talk about the role of the Human Resources Department,” the client answered.

“Yes, but what is the?purpose?of the meeting?” I probed further.

“To discuss Human Resource’s role!” she again vaguely replied.?

“But why do we need to discuss HR’s role?” I persisted. “What concerns do you have about HR’s role?”

Finally, the real purpose came out.?“I don’t think we are providing as much value to the organization as we should," she answered. "We need to talk about how HR can provide more value to the company.”?

Now that’s a purpose statement!

Topic

The purpose, or?topic, of a meeting, is the driving imperative that requires people to get together in a room. There has to be more of a reason for the meeting than just to meet. The topic is the ultimate outcome desired from a convocation of individuals. The meeting's purpose might be to gather information, seek advice, answer a specific question, solve a problem, or some other driving need.

Goals

The?goals?for the meeting are the individual steps or milestones that must be accomplished during the meeting to attain the desired outcome.

For example, in a typical problem-solving meeting the first goal might be to provide the participants with enough background information about the problem to give them a full understanding of the situation. The next goal might be to identify possible causes of the problem. Then the group might develop potential solutions to the problem. The final goals may be for the group to agree on a solution, develop a plan to implement the solution, and assign action items to individuals within the group.

Agenda

The?agenda?should be structured and sequenced to achieve the stated goals. Each item on the agenda should identify what type of discussion the item entails. For example, whether it is?informational,?advisory,?problem-solving, or a?request for help.?(See my article entitled: “Four Types of Agenda Items Keep Participants Focused and on Track in Meetings,” for more information on the four types of agenda items.)

The agenda also should, where appropriate, identify the process that will be used during each agenda item.

For example, an informational agenda item may involve a presentation of the background information. A problem-solving agenda item may include a brainstorming process to identify possible solutions to a problem. A round-robin discussion might be a good process to ensure all participants give their input during the consensus-building portion of a meeting.?

Finally, the agenda should list the expected timeframe for each of the agenda items. Informational agenda items should be brief, while problem-solving agenda items require enough time to thoroughly address and resolve the problem. Attendees should be concerned when they see agendas that allow too much time for sharing information and not enough time to address more meaty issues.

Here is a sample TGA to show what a completed TGA looks like.

TGA Keeps Participants Focused

?When potential attendees have a TGA they can make the right choices regarding their attendance. If the topic is not one in which he or she is interested or needs to be involved, the individual shouldn't attend. If the goals of the meeting are not appropriate or they will not attain the outcome stated in the topic, they shouldn't attend the meeting. If the agenda items will not accomplish the goals outlined, again, they should skip?the meeting.

Companies who discipline themselves to require a TGA before every meeting find that the number of meetings being held is greatly reduced while the value of those meetings that do get held is greatly enhanced. §

Innovative Management Group provides training for executives, managers, and supervisors on how to hold productive meetings. Please contact us at 702-592-6431 for a list of our customized training programs.?

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Mac McIntire is the president of Innovative Management Group, a Las Vegas-based training and consulting firm specializing in strategic visioning and alignment, organizational effectiveness, management development, quality improvement, customer service, and teamwork. He can be reached at 702-592-6431 or e-mail [email protected]. His website is www.imglv.com