Unfortunately, all too many office meetings get off track all too easily. Check out this list of common meeting headaches and how you can avoid them:
- A tendency to go off in different directions. If you spend too much time on one item and have to rush through the other items, participants will perceive them as unimportant.
- Imbalanced communication. Don’t let one person control the conversation in the meeting. Make sure that you have a dialog, not a monologue. Ask open-ended questions to solicit involvement from all parties in attendance.
- Failure to clarify roles or responsibilities. If someone other than the agency owner is presenting a topic, make sure that everyone understands that management has authorized the presentation.
- Vague structure and Leadership. Without a written agenda with specific time limits for all items to address, meetings tend to ramble. The attendees should have a written agenda at least one day before the meeting.
- Lack of a clear purpose. Whoever is conducting the meeting should inform the attendees of the meeting’s intent and what should be learned or accomplished during the meeting.
- Avoidance of the task. Don’t use a meeting to generalize about a specific problem. For example, if specific individuals are abusing the privilege of personal phone calls, don’t tell the entire group that they’re spending too much time making or receiving personal phone calls. Instead, meet the specific abusers and solve the problem with the individual(s).
- Dysfunctional participant behavior. Many agencies have what Roger Sitkins calls, “An Onboard Terrorist” the person who never agrees or repeatedly states that any changes “won’t work here.” It can also be the person who sits with their arms folded and looks as if they had who just bitten into a lemon. This is a management issue you must handle with the individual one-on-one. It might even result in a career adjustment for that person.
- Unsuitable Setting. Although some impromptu meetings can be held in the open office area, successful meetings should be held in a more formal setting, such as a conference room, or in the boss’ office. If attendees are supposed to be taking notes, make sure that there’s a desk or table provided to accommodate them.
- Failure to record meeting summaries. Assign one individual the task of “recording secretary.” For all important meetings, or any meeting that changes an office policy or course of action, make sure that this person summarizes the results and then sends a copy to each participant.
Follow these guidelines and your meetings will run far more effectively.