As a business leader, chances are much of your workday is spent either attending or leading meetings. Sometimes those meetings lead to brilliant ideas, critical breakthroughs and amazing revelations for your organization. Other times they result in lost productivity, added stress or confusion of a goal.
So what distinguishes the effective meetings from the productivity-draining ones? And how can you carefully plan or actively participate in a meeting so your team gets the most out of it? For starters, Bruce Wilkinson suggests you be aware of your meeting culture.
The president and chief leadership officer at Wilkinson Seminars & Presentations tells Business Report that meetings have a culture or reputation just like organizations and people do. That culture is delegated by who is holding the meeting and who gets people there. For example, Wilkinson says, starting the meeting on time is critical to set attendees’ expectations for future meetings. If you wait around for latecomers, it can send the message to punctual employees that their time is not as important as those who choose to be late.
“I want team members to want to come, not look for ways to avoid it,” Wilkinson says.
Wilkinson notes that the meeting leader is responsible for the whole presentation regardless of what happens. The presentation reflects on the meeting leader and sets a precedent for future meetings in your organization.
Wilkinson also suggests coming up with a formal title for your meeting based on the results you’re seeking. For example, call it a strategic session, a planning session, a brainstorming workshop, or a profit decision-making session. This will help attendees get in the right state of mind before the meeting.
“The culture of a meeting is dictated by people’s perception of it,” Wilkinson says.
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