The hosts discuss the reputation of meetings and share their personal experiences of the worst meetings they have been a part of. They explore different types of meetings, the importance of purpose, and strategies for making meetings more valuable and productive.
Clearly defining the purpose of meetings helps determine their value and ensure they are worth everyone's time.
Creating safe and productive meeting environments involves open and honest conversations, fostering trust, and valuing all ideas and opinions.
Taking ownership of meetings by reserving time for meaningful discussions, using purposeful agendas, and avoiding multitasking leads to more engaging and valuable meetings.
Deep dives
Identifying the Purpose of Meetings
The podcast episode discusses the importance of clearly defining the purpose of meetings. It emphasizes that meetings should serve a specific function, such as sharing updates, brainstorming, or making strategic decisions. The hosts suggest that understanding the purpose of a meeting helps in determining its value and ensuring that it is worth everyone's time.
Creating Safe and Productive Meetings
The podcast explores the significance of creating safe and productive meeting environments. It highlights the need for open and honest conversations by providing examples of anonymous feedback sessions and safety check polls. The hosts discuss the importance of building trust, encouraging participation, and fostering a culture where all ideas and opinions are valued.
Taking Ownership of Meetings
The podcast emphasizes the importance of taking ownership of meetings, regardless of whether you are the facilitator or a participant. The hosts discuss the benefits of reserving time for meaningful discussions and creating purposeful agendas. They suggest practical tips such as using paper planning to assess the value of meetings and avoiding multitasking to fully engage in the discussions.
Creating an Open Agenda for Team Meetings
The podcast discusses the benefits of having an open agenda for team meetings. This practice allows any team member to contribute agenda items, fostering inclusivity and ensuring that the conversation remains relevant to everyone in the room. While this approach may not scale well in larger teams, it has proven to be incredibly helpful for smaller teams that are spread across different time zones and locations. The open agenda format promotes team connection, coordination, and the opportunity to discuss customer issues and make collective architectural decisions.
Taking Ownership and Improving Meetings
The podcast explores steps towards making meetings more valuable and encouraging team members to view them as essential to their day. It emphasizes the importance of getting mad about wasted time and recognizing the value of one's own time. The first step towards better meetings is to stop being a victim of bad meetings and set higher standards. Additionally, managers can create an environment where team members feel comfortable giving feedback and proposing solutions to improve meetings. By taking ownership and being deliberate in their actions, team members can make meetings more efficient and productive, ultimately gaining social capital and influencing positive change.
In this episode of the Managing Up Show, Brandon, Travis, and Nick talk about meetings. How did they get a bad reputation? How can they be better? And no, the answer is not to abolish meetings, but rather to put the effort into making them actually good.
They share disaster stories of meetings gone wrong and what makes one actually work. They cover:
Setting a clear purpose for meetings
Identifying the roles of participants, and
Setting up discussions that unstick our work and sharpen our focus
Yep, there is such a thing as an effective, engaging meeting, and once you’ve had them, you’ll never go back.
