Strategies to ensure meeting productivity:
By Joel Schwartzberg, HBR 2022/01
Effective meetings are crucial for any organisation, and as a leader, it's your responsibility to ensure that they are focused, inclusive, and productive. Here are ten tactics to help you keep your meetings on track and achieve their intended purpose.
1. Create a Clear and Structured Agenda
A well-organised agenda is the foundation of a successful meeting. Outline the topics to discuss, allocate realistic time slots, and highlight key priorities. Share this agenda with all participants ahead of time so they can prepare accordingly.
2. Invite and Engage Relevant Participants
Ensure the right people are in the room. Appoint speakers for specific agenda items when needed, and make sure that those essential to decision-making or project progress can attend. If some cannot, provide them with meeting notes afterward.
3. Schedule the Meeting Thoughtfully
Choose a time that maximises focus and attendance. Avoid inconvenient times like late Friday afternoons.
4. Provide Reminders
Send reminders about the meeting time and agenda to all participants to ensure attendance and preparedness.
5. Prepare Necessary Materials
Organise any presentation slides or reports in a shared place accessible to all, especially for remote or hybrid meetings. Coordinate with technical staff to prevent tech issues.
6. Set a Suitable Meeting Environment
Ideally, the meeting should be private for sensitive discussions, especially one-on-ones, to encourage open communication.
7. Prepare Thoughtful Questions and Discussion Points
If applicable, prepare questions and discussion points to facilitate engagement and clarify goals, especially in one-on-one meetings.
8. Assign Roles
Appoint a moderator to help manage the flow of the meeting, including timekeeping, presentation control, and Q&A facilitation.
9. Recognise Team Members
It is always good to appreciate or give credit to a team member in front of the team. Keep the appreciation structured and brief. A good template would be: who did it, what they did, and how it impacted the organisation.
10. Stay Focused
Leaders should listen actively, demonstrate attentiveness, and know when they have finished their point. Keep any wandering off the main subject brief and return to the main topic promptly to avoid losing focus.
By adhering to these preparation steps, leaders can ensure meetings are focused, inclusive, efficient, and productive, ultimately helping achieve the intended purpose.
In addition, leaders should use all available tools to ensure important points are discussed effectively. They should guide their team by starting meetings with announcements, greetings, and important updates, reviewing previous meeting conclusions, and providing or seeking updates on issues marked for review.
Asking helpful questions during a meeting can encourage team members to think more strategically and recommend actions instead of just sharing viewpoints. If a team member's presentation lacks a clear direction, ask, "What do you recommend?" to help them stay on point.
These tactics also help build pre-work into meetings, help team members focus, and manage distractions. Offering regular feedback can also keep team members focused and motivated.
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