Have brilliant meetings.
Have brilliant meetings.
In brilliant meetings, ideas are generated.
Feedback gathered.
Information shared.
Resources allocated.
Strategies aligned.
Decisions made.
Relationships grown.
Morale boosted.
Trust built.
Accountability accepted.
Action inspired.
In bad meetings, you stab yourself in the leg with a pencil to keep yourself awake while deciding what you’ll watch on Disney+ tonight (The Banshees of Inisherin, trust me).
So you need to stop wasting your time in bad meetings.
Even better; stop wasting other people’s time in your bad meetings.
But what makes meetings so bad we need a shot of HB lead to endure them?
Bad meetings:
Are improvised
Lack direction and purpose
Confuse with too much of the wrong information
Miss the opportunity to re-connect you with your colleagues, the organisations purpose and your passion for the work
Leave you feeling inessential, bored or overworked
Brilliant meetings on the other hand:
Are planned
Are contextualised and structured
Give clarity and create alignment
Re-establish a reason to care
Leave you feeling positive and enthusiastic
The surest sign you’re in a bad meeting is if you feel like it’s keeping you from getting on with your job.
The most effective and immediate improvement you can make to your meetings is to separate them out into four distinct types and avoid conflating two different types of meeting.
1 Creative meetings
You’re here to generate ideas and be part of a decision making process on what the vision is.
Come to a decision on this vision and rule out other options.
Agree action required to achieve or progress towards this vision and confirm accountability.
E.g. A programming meeting.
2 Strategic meetings
You’re here to be part of a decision making process on which strategic direction should be followed to achieve a previously agreed vision.
Come to a decision on that strategy and rule out other options.
Agree action required to implement this strategy and confirm accountability.
E.g. A board meeting.
3 Tactical meetings
You’re here to be part of a decision making process on which tactics should be employed to achieve a previously agreed to strategic goal.
Come to a decision on those tactics and rule out other options.
Agree action required to implement those tactics and confirm accountability.
E.g. A marketing meeting.
4 Informative meetings
You’re here to share or receive information about tactics that is integral to the effective performance of your role and to inform your next tactical meeting.
That information should be concisely communicated.
It should be reflected back in summary to confirm it has been received.
E.g. A weekly company meeting.
Master the four types of meeting and never waste anyone’s time again.
Instead, have brilliant meetings.
