Special Tactics for Meetings

from Able Leader, June 2006

by Steve Kaye

Your phone rings.

You groan silently as you listen to the caller invite you to a meeting.

And this promises to be a repeat of the last meeting, which was a long painful discussion of unrelated ideas, stories, and complaints.

So, what do you do?

You could waste another afternoon. Or, you could:

1) Be busy.

Fill your calendar with activities that relate to your job.

For example, you could schedule an all-day meeting tomorrow (with yourself) to finish the report that is due next week. Or, you could schedule a trip (to the library) to read articles on new technologies. Or, you could schedule meetings (really) with team members to learn about their needs so that you can manage resources.

This helps in many ways.

First, if your calendar is filled for the next two months, then office software that puts people in meetings will be unable to send you to one. That protects you from being scheduled for meetings without your consent (see point 2 below).

It also means that someone will have to phone you to gain your attendance. Then you can ask questions to determine if attending is a good use of your time.

Second, it helps you prioritize how you spend time.

That is, any new activity has to compete with whatever you have scheduled. For example, you can now choose between: a) wasting an afternoon in a pointless meeting or b) completing a report on time, which will please your boss and (in turn) earn points toward a raise.

Third, it gives you an excuse to miss bad meetings. Now, you can say, "I have a conflict."

Note: if you're interested in the meeting, ask for a copy of the minutes.

2) Be curious.

Ask questions to determine if attending the meeting is a good use of your time. For example, you could ask:

"What is your goal for the meeting?"

-- Caution: A meeting without a goal will produce nothing.

"What is your agenda for the meeting?"

-- Caution: A meeting without an agenda (or with an incomplete agenda) will waste time.

"What is my role in the meeting?"

-- Caution: A vague answer, such as, "Oh, I thought you'd like to find out what we're doing." suggests that you are being invited to watch others show off.

Certainly your time is too valuable to waste in pointless, unplanned, useless meetings. In such cases, use Tactic 1 (above) to decline or Tactic 3 (below) to help.

3) Be helpful.

If you are invited to a meeting about an important issue and there is no agenda, offer to prepare one.

This gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your leadership and organizational skills. It also helps accomplish tasks that are needed for your business.

If you are too busy to help, then hire a facilitator who will take care of the entire process.

Similarly, if you find yourself in a wayward meeting, you may be able to help the chairperson by asking guiding questions, such as:

"What do you want to accomplish?"

"What do you want to have by the end of this meeting?"

"How can we help you?"

And, if appropriate, you can offer to take charge of a meeting that has lost its way. Of course, this will depend upon the goal, the group, and your knowledge of effective meeting dynamics.

4) Be constructive (bonus idea)

Instead of coping with bad meetings, schedule a workshop that shows your staff how to hold effective meetings. This will help your business earn more.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300