Meetings can prove counterproductive if not appropriately organized to lead to some meaningful outcome. Since executives spend almost 30% of their weekly time on meetings, the cost of poorly organized meetings can hit companies hard. According to a survey, the US lost $399 billion annually due to wasteful meetings in 2019, and the UK lost about $58 billion. But only organizing a meeting well to ensure good participation does not ensure that it will turn into a productive meeting. There are leadership techniques that can help to ensure productive meetings.
This article should help you understand how to make meetings more productive.
Active Participation Ensures a Productive Meeting
The convener or the person conducting the meeting is mainly responsible for its success. The level of participation in terms of active interactions of the participants is critical for receiving feedback, suggestions, and comments to enrich the proceedings. Ask each member of the meeting to share their viewpoint by randomly calling names. It will ensure that everyone contributes to the meeting by staying involved. Alert and active participation can turn work meetings productive.
Proper Selection of the Members
For meetings to be productive, the selection of participants is critical so that they can use the opportunity to speak out their minds with a positive intention. The agenda of the meeting influences the members’ choice because the topics for discussion must be relevant and important to the participants so that they take an active interest in it. Consider the members’ specific roles when inviting them to the meeting and include the key decision makers in the list.
Set the Meeting Rules
Set some rules for conducting the meeting like reporting on time, barring the use of mobile phones and other gadgets during the meeting, and sharing the agenda and expectations about how the members should contribute. The groundwork prepares the participants for the meeting as they are clear about their roles and remain focused. It will eliminate unnecessary interruptions and allow voicing concerns or asking questions at the opportune moment. It prevents unnecessary stretching of the meeting that ends meaningfully within the acceptable time frame.
Clarity of Purpose
There are high chances that weekly meetings can soon lose value as the members look upon it as a ritual and do not find it interesting. They consider it an easy meeting more for passing the time, and the casual approach impacts the meeting’s productivity. Therefore, explaining to the members the purpose of the meeting helps them understand the importance and serves as a focal point that generates interest. On knowing the agenda, the members can create a mental plan about the issues to highlight for making a positive contribution.
Avoid Group Thinking
To encourage sharing diverse views during a meeting, you must ask individuals to speak up by avoiding group thinking. It paves the way for the members to raise counterpoints essential to enrich the proceedings, ultimately leading to a productive meeting.
A healthy debate allows people to think about the viewpoint of others that might be contrary to their thought processes.
