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Overview |
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One
of your major responsibilities as a manager will be facilitating
meetings. Like it or not, we live in a society of meetings.
The reasons for holding meetings are as plentiful as the
number of hours spent actually meeting. Research shows
that the average individual in our society will sit through
nine thousand hours of meetings in a lifetime - over 375
days, more than a year - and that organizations will spend
millions of dollars on these meetings.
For a complete coverage of meeting management, please
refer to the PPC module "Conducting
Effective Meetings."
Meetings are a critical tool for getting things done in
your organization. When done well, they can save you and
the organization a great deal of time and resources. But
the truth is, most of us tend to dread meetings, and in
many cases, for good reason. Some frequently voiced complaints
regarding meetings are:
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Unnecessary
and a waste of time |
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No
real agenda |
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No
clear reason for the meeting |
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Lots
of politicking and territorial squabbles |
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Insufficient
planning |
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Absence
of individuals essential to any real decision-making |
The good news is that there are techniques you can learn
to plan, organize and conduct productive meetings, to
maximize participation, prevent problems and complaints,
and achieve your desired outcomes.
There are many kinds of meetings. Among the most common
are:
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Brainstorming
meetings |
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Planning
meetings |
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Information
sharing meetings |
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Debriefings |
Every meeting, besides having a task with desired outcomes,
can also be viewed as having two dimensions: process and
content. Attention to both is essential for a successful
meeting. Content refers to what is talked about
at the meeting, the agenda topics, information, opinions,
decisions, action and plans - the task of the meeting.
Process refers to how the meeting proceeds, how
the group works together to accomplish the task and to
build and maintain cohesiveness - the method for the meeting.
There are five essential keys to leading meetings:
1. Planning: All the things you must do to prepare
for the meeting. There are nine steps to planning your
meeting. (See next page.)
2. Starting: How you set the tone and create the
climate for the meeting
3. Focusing: Keeping the meeting on track
4. Facilitating: The things you can do to involve
participants, be supportive, resolve conflict, and manage
differences
5. Concluding: The way you end the meeting to assure
that participants feel satisfied with the outcomes and
that follow-up actions will be carried out.
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