One of my clients had to laugh last week when I pointed out I knew his schedule for the day so I was only going to meet with him for 45 minutes so that he had enough time to hit the restroom before his next meeting started up.

He agreed and with a chagrined look, thanked me for the extra time and told me he would use it to check emails!

There is just not enough time to get everything done but if would could do some things more efficiently, that would be a good start.

Ineffective meetings are big drainers of time and lost energy. Starting late, lacking structure, not making meetings relevant are all low hanging fruit in an area where most folks spend significant time during the day.

Here are 5 ways to make your meetings successful:

• Create an agenda: Allow everyone’s voice to enter into the discussion by engaging your team on what should be covered during the meeting.
• Start with a bang: Conduct a success review about a customer and why your team’s strategy worked so well or perhaps provide a provocative industry update. Get your team’s attention right from the start.
• Engage people in discussion: You do not want your meetings to just be a reporting of information “John, can you give us an update on….” Instead ask your team to share a failure so that they can get some ideas from others.
• Ban technology: Rotate the recording role so that one person is taking and distributing notes. If folks have their phones or computers open, they will be checking email or more.
• Make actions actionable: Make certain assignments are clear and contain time frames and reporting parameters. End the meeting with a review of what is expected of everyone. This helps everyone be accountable to the team.

These steps will build focus and resilience for your team. Go ahead and start taking these actions today and send me an email to let me know how they are working out for you and your team.

© Richard Citrin, All rights reserved, 2018

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