Productive & Engaging Meetings.
Clarifying what we want beforehand is key.
When we reverse engineer the results we want, we can have more productive meetings.
If you feel you spend half of your week in meetings, you could be right.
Research has discovered that 58% of the average executive’s working week is spent in meetings (up from less than 10 hours in the 1960’s and not including impromptu meetings).
And if you question if those meetings are productive, you’d also be right. One study found that 92% of employees attending meetings confess to multitasking; 41% admit to doing so often or all the time; and the most common activities - instead of actively listening - were checking email, working on other projects, or eating.
So know you’re not alone in attending potentially more meetings than needed and secretly wondering, ‘Why am I here?’.
The less certain we are, the more we meet.
The more unclear or uncertain or low influence someone is, the more likely they are to call a meeting. It’s why meetings ramped up during the pandemic: it gave us certainty.
The psychology of meetings tells us that people typically believe that:
Meetings bring us certainty. This is useful if we aren’t entirely sure what is expected of us or how to do something. We can seek it in a group setting.
Meetings give us clarity. This is useful if we aren’t totally sure of our roles or who’s responsible for what. Instead, we book a meeting to figure it out.
Meetings give us validation if we’re freaking out. It can feel easier to call a meeting and get feedback on our project, instead of asking someone directly for validation that we’re on the right track.
Meetings are a way to be seen. When you’re in a bigger organisation, it can be tricky to get air-time with the boss. Calling a meeting is a way to have that need met.
Meetings can be a way to get quicker approvals. This is helpful for cultures where we don’t get a lot of feedback or support from our boss, or we are working autonomously on behalf of a larger group, like a leadership team.
Meetings are a way to get supervision if we have a hands-off boss. This is helpful if we feel overwhelmed, new to a task, out of our depth or we don’t yet have the influence or authority required to get on with a job independently.
Meetings feel ‘safe’. In a 1:1 setting you’re more likely to get feedback. Many people openly admit they’re nervous about getting feedback so a meeting feels comfier.
As we can see, meetings meet a lot of our needs. No wonder we’re in meetings a fair bit.
The mindset shift.
Once a default has been created, it’s trickier to unravel. As one CEO said to me, “We met regularly during the pandemic and now that the business is more stable, we probably need to consciously redesign our meeting cadence”.
Now that the landscape has changed, it requires a conscious mindset shift.
The reason meeting culture is so prevalent is because most people who call them believe the bulk of the work will be done in the meeting. Yet, it’s actually the inverse: the bulk of the work actually gets done before and after the meeting.
It’s the 80/20 rule:
Before the meeting: 40% preparing, figuring out the purpose, who should attend, and what is in it for them.
After the meeting: 40% following up with actions, circulating minutes, and ensuring everyone is clear on their expectations.
The actual meeting: 20% of time.
When we mentally tell ourselves that one meeting = 80% more work, we definitely think twice before calling them.
The five reasons to meet.
It’s not rocket science to point out that the purpose of a productive meeting is to:
Inform (e.g. a WIP, reporting or RAG status).
Decide (e.g. a strategy or sales pitch).
Debate (e.g. workshop a strategy, problem solve).
Collaborate (e.g. generate ideas and workshop).
Connect (teams who are connected are more productive in the long run).
When we treat the above as a menu of options, it becomes clear when a meeting helps us and when it probably is a clarification or validation exercise.
The M.E.E.T Method.
Before we call a meeting, we can use the M.E.E.T Method. The M.E.E.T Method is designed around the idea of reverse engineering. If we know why we want a meeting and if it will produce a result valuable to everyone, it makes the case for calling a meeting that much more valuable.
M.E.E.T Method:
M for Meeting: What problem are we here to solve? Why are we meeting? Does it tick one of the 5 reasons? If not, how can we gain clarity or feedback directly from the stakeholder instead of calling a group meeting?
E for Essential: Who needs to be there and why? If we were paying $100 of our own money to each person attending, who would we choose?
E for Ease: How would a meeting benefit those attending? How does it answer, ‘What’s in it for me’?
T for Tangible: What is the tangible outcome of meeting? What would happen as a result? What would need to be clarified ahead of time to deliver this?
When we put our decisions through this M.E.E.T Method, figuring out whether we should meet and who we should invite becomes clear.
As a result, when we invite them it’s explicit how they benefit.
If we treat this list as a menu, we can flip meeting culture on its head and shift from default meeting practice to meeting by design.
Leaders can positively influence employee engagement and workplace culture by planning and attending effective and engaging meetings.
Bring this essential skill of creating effective meetings to your leaders. It’s one part of our essential leadership skills training that equips leaders with the foundation for positive leadership. Learn more.