You know it's a boring meeting, when the meeting leader falls asleep
This has happened to me. Not the falling asleep part, the part where the participants in the meeting, of which I have been one, note that the person who called the meeting has lulled themselves to sleep at the sheer banality of the subject matter and lack of focus.
Great article in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning about how to conduct a punchy meeting, preferably without PowerPoint - the bane of my executive life. There is a role for meetings provided they have a clear focus and achievable outcomes. After all, there has to be a forum for communication or collaboration en masse and a gathering of minds to share and build ideas is reasonable.
While there is no set formula, there are some obvious traps that should be avoided, including the repetition of information, lack of sharing and input from the participants, conducting meetings out of habit and the inclination of the meeting leader to monopolise the floor. Lets not be talked at when we could be included in the discussion!
My mind wanders to a definition I recently heard about some companies that do more "business with each other", (i.e. a perpetual agenda of relentless meetings), than they do with their customers. How true does this feel when the 'boss' wants to know your findings on consumer sentiment and behaviour and your own agenda is the anti-thesis of this. More about how to make up the 1% missed off your KPI last week, than what are our customers telling us.
The incredible stream of talented people that I have worked with over an extensive career has so often been hampered by exactly this issue. Too many meetings delivering limited inspiration stifles the organic talent of so many individuals that flourish in a creative and fulfilling space. There is an expectation that leaders deliver a forum of collaboration, ideas and relevance and that the culture of the company provides the conditions for this to prevail.
Let's engage and be engaged throughout this process. I give all teams permission to take on this challenge and collectively drive an improved agenda of both frequency and content to enable customers to reap the rewards!
https://www.executivestyle.com.au/give-mundane-meetings-a-makeover-ghfumx