----
Have you ever been involved in a process improvement or redesign effort that didn't require a meeting? Neither have I. Meetings are a necessary mechanism for exchanging information, confirming progress, creatively developing deliverables or solutions, making decisions, and growing as a team. In fact, a recent survey of corporate, government, defense, education and non-profit sectors show that we spend anywhere from 25% to 50% of our time in meetings (depending on our role and responsibilities). So why not apply some of our BPM know-how to meetings - a continually repeating organization-wide process that takes up so much of our time, has so much potential, and yet produces so much waste?
But where does one start when attempting to improve the meeting process? We asked over 200 business professionals in various industries for their insight into the top causes of meeting ineffectiveness. Their responses echo my own experience. Let's take a look at the top three constraints to successful meetings and what we can do to minimize them.
The largest factor contributing to ineffective meetings was lack of good meeting controls. People felt frustrated that non-productive behaviors such as going off on tangents, multi-tasking during the meeting, and side-bar conversations were allowed to occur. They indicated that late arrivals were allowed to negatively impact progress. And dominating participants were frequently not managed and thus wound up dictating the course of discussion. As leaders in the change effort, how can we better control meetings to ensure time is well spent and our goals get met?
<u>Establish Your Role as Facilitator.</u> This role holds the key to making project meetings effective. The facilitator is the one who guides the meeting process - making sure everything and everyone is prepared to do their best work, managing the meeting itself, and documenting the meeting outcomes. Through intentional planning, facilitative techniques, and managing group dynamics, this person can transform useless meeting time into productive results. This facilitated collaboration helps people work better together to create the outcomes and project deliverables you need in a focused period of time.
Once your role is firmly established with the team, they will expect you to intervene in the meeting process to keep it on track and productive. Don't disappoint them. Have the courage to step in when things start to veer off-track.
<u>Ask for Tangible Action.</u> To help attendees better prepare for significant meetings, ask them to do some tangible piece of work in advance. It may be as simple as ranking some items or as complex as listing the steps in their business process. Request this work be submitted in advance of the meeting so it can be compiled and printed for use in the meeting.
<u>Start Meetings 10 Minutes Late.</u> As meeting facilitators, we often get caught in the meeting machine - running from room to room with no time in between. That's not the way to run a meeting. You need to be fully present and focused, not harried, scattered and preoccupied with the previous meeting. So give yourself the opportunity to be prepared. Start meetings at 10-15 minutes after the hour.
== Conclusion ==