Design Better Meetings, Lead Better Teams

As a leader, I have sat in meetings feeling frustrated or not valued - and sometimes would add up the salary sitting in the room. There were also times when 10 to 30 people waited 30, 45+ minutes for the meeting to start too! Wow – what a waste of money and time. 

And, as an Executive + Leadership coach, “meeting fatigue” comes up a lot in client sessions. 

My favorite Leadership / Communication podcast is “Think Fast, Talk Smart” hosted by Matt Abrams. His latest episode, “Meetings with a Point” featuring author Rebecca Hinds, finally lays out why meetings are broken. More importantly, she has some great ideas on what to do about them. (And, Matt’s podcasts are only 20 minutes: short and to the point!)

Rebecca opens by laying it on the line: Meetings are “the most expensive communication tool we have”…“They're immensely expensive, not just in terms of the payroll costs, but also in terms of the mental load that they often consume.”

As a leader, what can you do about it? I love Rebecca’s concepts of:

• Meeting doomsday

• 4D test: meetings should only exist to decide, debate, discuss or develop your team

• CEO test: meeting should only happen if it’s complex, emotionally intense and a one-way decision (can’t go back)

Take a listen. “Meetings With a Point: How to Design For Better Decisions”. This episode is packed with useful and inspirational ideas for using meetings as a powerful resource – and not just a waste of time or money

From a coaching perspective: 

• What would you gain by having more intentional meetings?

• What impact would it have on your team to have less meetings?

• What could you do to lead, manage up and influence cultural change around meetings?

Imagine not dreading going to a meeting - what would that feel like?

 #ExecutiveCoach #Leadershipcoaching #Meetingfatique