LEADING EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
By: Kimara Ellefson
Meetings often
contain at least one
moron that
inevitably gets his
turn to waste
everyone’s time with
nonsense.
Meetings
procreate. One
meeting leads to
another meeting
leads to another…
Fried, Jason, and David H. Hansson. "REWORK: The New Business Book from
37signals." 37signals: Web-based Collaboration Apps for Small Business. 37signals,
6 Feb. 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://37signals.com/rework/>.
FACT:
Research shows that the average
individual in our society today will
sit through 9,000 hours of meetings in
their lifetime! That is over 365 days
spent in meetings – not to mention
the thousands and sometimes
millions of dollars spent on meetings.
ABOUT ME
 13
Years at MCW
 Administrative role
 Spent roughly1,820 hours in meetings over
the last year…which means in the 13 years
at MCW spent 23,660 hours in meetings
 So much time in meetings…block off two
hours every day just to NOT be in meetings
 Truly believe in the power of meetings...good
and bad.
DO YOU DREAD GOING TO MEETINGS?
Take a moment to recall your last team meeting:
• What does it look and feel like?
• How well does your team function?
• Who always talks and who never talks?
• How does the group make decisions?
• Are team members accountable for their contributions
to the team?
Works Cited: Pigeon, Ed.D, Yvette, and Omar Khan, MD. "Leadership Lesson - Tools for Effective
Team Meetings." AAMC. AAMC, 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.aamc.org>.
PROBLEM WITH MEETINGS

Boring


Lack conflict
Ineffective/Time Wasting
Lack appropriate context or structure
 Lack of focus


Forget what is at stake

If there isn’t much at stake, don’t meet!
FIVE CONCEPTS FOR LEADING EFFECTIVE
MEETINGS
1. Set the stage-Why do I care/What is at stake?
2. Mine for conflict-actively engage all viewpoints
3. Don’t wait for consensus-get all ideas out-then
LEAD
4. Drive to Conclusion
5. Everyone supports/takes action/is accountable
PLANNING AND
PREPARING YOUR
MEETING
“Perhaps the most important time you will spend in a
meeting is the time you spend before the meeting even
starts…”
SETTING THE STAGE
Determine the Purpose
To develop your purpose for the meeting ask
yourself the following questions:
o
o
o
o
What is at stake?
Why am I holding the meeting?
What do I want to achieve at the meeting?
What do I want to achieve after the meeting?
Tip: Before you begin to move forward with
planning your meeting – decide whether or not a
meeting is the best way to accomplish your
meeting purpose.
Prepare a Meeting Plan
Determining a meeting type will help
simplify your planning process
o
o
o
o
o
Meet to solve a problem
Make decisions
Gather to share information
Hear a presentation
Brainstorm ideas
THE FOUR MEETINGS
Meeting Type
Daily Check-in
Weekly Tactical
Monthly Strategic
Quarterly Off-site
Review
Time
Required
Purpose and Format
Share daily schedules and
activities
•
•
•
Don’t sit down
Keep it administrative
Don’t cancel even when
some people cannot be
there
Review weekly activities and
metrics, and resolve tactical
obstacles and issues
•
Don’t set agenda until after
initial reporting
Postpone strategic
discussions
Discuss, analyze, brainstorm,
and decide upon critical
issues affecting long-term
success
•
•
•
Limit to one or two topics
Prepare and do research
Engage in good conflict
Review strategy, industry
trends, competitive
landscape, key personnel, &
team development
•
•
Get out of office
Focus on work; limit social
activities
Don’t over structure or
overburden the schedule
5 minutes
45-90
minutes
2-4 hours
1-2 days
Keys to Success
•
•
Information from Patrick Lencioni’s Book, Death by Meeting
DEFINE: CONTENT & PROCESS
PROCESS
CONTENT
Refers to how the
meeting proceeds, how
the group works
together to accomplish
task(s), and to build and
maintain cohesiveness
Refers to what is talked
about at the meeting,
the agenda topics,
decisions, information,
opinions, etc.
IDENTIFY MEETING PARTICIPANTS
To determine who should attend follow these guidelines:
o
o
o
o
o
Invite those with relevant information or expertise
Invite those who will make the final decision
Invite people who are affected by or will carry out a
decision
Consider inviting anyone who might significantly prevent
or interfere with the implementation of a decision
Invite individuals with higher functional responsibility
Tip: Invite as few people as possible while still being
inclusive. This varies based on the purpose and intent of the
meeting.
IDENTIFY GROUP ROLES

Leader


Timekeeper


Keeps written record of proceedings
Chart Person


Keeps time and lets participants know
when it is time to move to the next agenda item
Note Taker


Responsible for managing the meeting
Writes important points of discussion and lists of
ideas.
Navigator

Keep group on track
PREPARE THE AGENDA
o Agenda: Very simply “Things to be done”
o Sequence: Arrange your agenda with the
most important items first and least
important last in case time runs out
o Timing: Assign realistic times to each
item, this will determine how long the
meeting will last and will enable you to
figure out if you have too much on the
agenda
EFFECTIVE AGENDAS INCLUDE:
o
o
o
o
o
Meeting Purpose-What is at stake?
Meeting Logistics (Date, Time, Roles,
Participants)
Agenda Items
Times
Assignments (Report out, etc. )
“Every minute you avoid spending in a meeting is
a minute you can get real work done instead”
Communicating to Participants
Includes:
o
o
o
o
o
What is at stake?
Who? When? Where?
Logistics
Meeting Agenda
Any special instructions regarding
participant preparation
Tip: Leaders should not be
the only person coming to
the meeting prepared.
Therefore, providing
information ahead of time
will increase the chances of
better productivity during
your meeting.
SUMMARY:
SETTING THE STAGE

Create a statement of Purpose/Outcomes
 Ask
yourself “What do I want the purpose of this meeting
to be and what are the potential outcomes?

Prepare a Meeting Plan






Determine Meeting Type
Define Content & Process
Identify Meeting Participants/Group Roles
Determine Meeting Logistics
Prepare the Agenda
Communicate with Participants
All these should take place before meeting starts!
CONDUCTING MEETINGS
LEAD, LEAD, LEAD

When you lead a meeting, you are a leader and
all leadership principles apply:
Provide structure
 Encourage participation
 Be decisive
 Hold participants accountable

Start Fast
o
o
Starting on Time – Communicate the
seriousness of starting on time. Wasting
people’s time equals less time working on
other projects
Stay Focused – Do not allow for other work
to be done
Tip: Arrange the meeting room that supports dialogue
and better communication.
Request that cell phones, laptops, iPads not be used
during the meetings, i.e. for checking emails
FIRST MEETING:
UTILIZE INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES
Set aside 5-15 minutes for introductory items to
help get the meeting started.






Welcome & Introductions
Meeting Purpose
Process
Ground Rules
Meeting Agenda
“Parking Lot”
MINE FOR CONFLICT
Goals:
o
o
o
o
Keep the Meeting Focused
Encourage Full Participation
Attend to the Pace
Handle Counterproductive Behavior
It’s your job to encourage everyone’s full
participation
WAYS TO MINE FOR CONFLICT






Directly Solicit Input from Everyone
Ask Open-ended Questions
Actively Listen to Others, Be Attentive to Body
Language
Reinforce and Acknowledge Positive Participation
Ask for Concrete Examples
Be Supportive
Tip: Always maintain control. Don’t forget you are the
Leader. Don’t allow another participant to take that role from
you.
HANDLE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIORS
Six Behaviors That May Cause Problems:
Overly Talkative
 Definitely Wrong
 Highly Argumentative
 Obstinate
 Side Conversations
 Won’t Talk

TIPS ON HOW TO HANDLE
Overly Talkative
Definitely Wrong
When they pause for a breath take
that time to thank them for input,
refocus attention on subject, and
move on.
Never embarrass the individual. Say
you may not have heard them
correctly and ask them to rephrase
the comment.
Highly Argumentative
Stay calm! Try to find merit in point
and then move on. May also seek
group’s opinion. If necessary ask to
speak privately.
Side Conversation
Casually walk to and stand beside
the side conversation. Ask one of the
parties an easy question or restate
your last point and ask for their
opinion. Pause and wait for them to
notice.
Obstinate
Throw out issues/ideas for open
group discussion. Ask group if they
“agree or disagree”.
Won’t Talk
Bored: around interest by asking
their opinion
Uninvolved: Engage person seated
next to them, then gradually shift
focus to draw them in
Shy or Insecure: Support with
sincere compliment after first time
opening up
DRIVE TO CONCLUSION
Often we walk away from a meeting feeling
that nothing is accomplished. Follow these
steps below to help create closure to the
meeting:
o
o
o
Summarize what has been accomplished
Compare the accomplishments with the
desired outcomes
Identify unfinished agenda items and
determine ways to address them
GET BUY-IN AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Complete an action plan – who will do what and
when?
 Summarize Action Items
 Delegate follow up responsibilities

DISTRIBUTING MINUTES



Minutes should be handed out to everyone attending
the meeting
Give direction to participants to review the minutes
and action items
If these are ongoing meetings, the minutes become
the start of the next agenda
SUMMARY
Remember to:
 Be a LEADer
 Start Fast
 Mine for Conflict
 Drive to Conclusion
 Hold everyone accountable
EFFECTIVE MEETINGS PRODUCE RESULTS
“The clock represents our commitments,
appointments, schedules, goals and activities – what
we do with and how we manage our time. The compass
represents our vision, values, principles, mission,
conscience, direction – what we feel is important and
how we lead our lives.
The struggle comes when we sense a gap between the
clock and the compass – when what we do doesn’t
contribute to what is most important in our lives.”
– Stephen Covey
MEETING RESOURCES
Best-selling author Patrick
Lencioni provides readers with
another powerful and thoughtprovoking book, this one
centered around a cure for the
most painful yet
underestimated problem of
modern business: bad
meetings. And what he
suggests is both simple and
revolutionary.
Information and research gathered for this presentation was from Patrick Lencioni’s
book, “Death by Meeting”