Meetings & Culture
Whether work is hybrid, fully remote or 100% in office, most everyone agrees there should be fewer meetings and the ones that occur should be better.
Here are two thoughtful ideas that support improved outcomes, efficiencies, and a positive workplace culture.
Manager, Scribe & Evaluation
At a prior job, our office norms included Meeting Management. When initiating a meeting, the invitation had to include a defined Purpose, that is, a desired outcome for the meeting, plus brief discussion points. Legitimate forethought before a meeting sometimes resulted in no meeting at all – instead, a well-written email served.
In meetings, the initiator or Meeting Manager’s role was to guide the meeting and uphold helpful meeting behaviors. For example, perhaps a participant cut off someone speaking, or an attendee wasn’t heard from at all, the Manager knew to watch for such instances and double-back, ensuring appropriate airtime.
The Manager also appointed a Scribe at the start of the meeting so others could devote full attention to participation. The Scribe (who also participated) changed from meeting to meeting so no one person was always taking notes. Rotating the role also ensured all team members shared in the task that in some office cultures might default to the women in the group.
Expectations for attendees included that they would show up prepared, having reviewed the Purpose and discussion points in advance of the meeting, and they committed to respecting the established meeting timeframes. The latter avoided meetings that went off the rails, wreaking havoc with calendars.
Lastly, every meeting ended with a 5-minute open forum Evaluation which encouraged productive feedback for the meeting group. Maybe a participant felt a discussion point was too rushed and needed follow-up or, perhaps unhelpful meeting behaviors were raised. Under the heading of “improving for next time,” Evaluations were direct and meaningful.
Meeting Management felt somewhat rigid at first, but it only took a bit of practice before it became “our way.” After that, participation in meetings felt more efficient and purposeful.
Meeting Management also benefited newly hired employees and newly promoted managers as they could embrace the stated meeting process, taking guesswork or any anxiety out of how to run their first meetings.
Weekly Meeting Rhythm
As relates to reoccurring team meetings, I love an approach I read about in the Harvard Business Review a few years back, suggesting managers rethink weekly team meetings to drive performance, not pressure.
Make Monday meetings about prioritizing goals and ensuring alignment of work throughout the team.
Focus midweek meetings on problem-solving, i.e., helping the team get unstuck.
And turn Fridays into “pencils down” days, so teams can review completed work and provide feedback.
It is easy to imagine how when a leader establishes such a rhythm, the result is employees with autonomy over their work and their schedules who produce better work product.
There is no best way to run meetings but establishing some form of meeting process that respects the people, the work, and the time involved, usually results in fewer meetings, improved outcomes, and better energy in the room -- good for performance and good for company culture.