Guest Blog from John Chlarson

Each member of the IPS Leadership Academy was asked to write a blog post. Today's post comes from MTAS Consultant John Chlarson.

A worthwhile meeting: planning one, running one, following through on one.

Earlier this year, I observed a CIS Advisory Committee meeting. The meeting was chaired by a CIS client, Alan Eddington. It was an interesting and productive meeting. (Chuck Shoopman had promised me that it would be a real stem-winder, and it was.)

Last week UT was involved in daily meetings with a team of supervisors from the Memphis Public Works Department. Our team included Ronnie Neill from MTAS and Michael Codega and Keith Groves from CIS. The meetings went very well and were a great success. This can be attributed, to a great degree, to the preparation by the UT team and to the experienced facilitation by Keith and Michael.

What did these meetings have in common? They both:

• Started on time
• Showed proper preparation
• Followed the agenda
• Were focused (digressions were politely corralled and the participants brought back on task)
• Accomplished their purpose
• Ended on time

Having attended numerous meetings that failed on all or several of these accounts; I was very impressed on both occasions. What was the difference between these meetings and less successful ones? What makes a good meeting?

Is the meeting necessary? Or, does it fill a blank on a checklist? Is the meeting worth the resources it represents? There is an old expression: “The game’s not worth the candle.”

“This phrase relates to occupations, games etc. that were thought so lacking in merit that it wasn't worth the expense of a candle to create enough light to partake in them. Candles were as significant a drain on household expenses as is the electricity bill today. …” (www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/)

In this worthwhile meeting: share information and seek an exchange of ideas and to build on those ideas. You should have a checklist to plan the meeting:

• The meeting is necessary
• Why are you meeting? (if this takes more than two sentences to explain, one meeting may not meet your needs)
• Who should attend? (as few as possible, but those whose input or information is critical)

Now move to your agenda. The agenda should identify:

·        The time, date, location, and duration of the meeting

·        A summary of the purpose of the meeting, including the deliverables that you expect from the meeting

·        The sequential steps in the process that you are going to take to produce the deliverables, within the time limit that you have set (agenda items)

The participants should receive the agenda far enough in advance of the meeting so that they can prepare properly.

The agenda is an implied contract with the participants. You are contracting to:

·        Start on time

·        Finish on time

·        Be prepared

·        Cover the items that are on the agenda

·        Keep the meeting on track

·        Produce the identified deliverables

·        Follow through

Starting on time. This can impact the entire tone of the meeting. You expect the participants will be on time and they expect that you will. Respect everyone’s time.

State the purpose of the meeting, including the expected deliverables.

Go over the ground rules (e.g., this is business, not personal; don’t leave in silent disagreement; problems are opportunities for us to identify improvements; B.H.N., Be Here Now (no phone calls, texts, emails, net surfing, etc.) and any others that you might identify).

Go over the agenda. People need to know what to expect.

Re-state the deliverables. People need to know what is expected.

Make sure that someone is taking notes that can be reproduced for the group

Keep the meeting on track. Don’t allow folks to: “chase rabbits” (digress); engage in side conversations; interrupt or to talk over others. Keep the atmosphere open and respectful. In Memphis, we used a “parking lot” to help keep things on track. The validity of ideas and issues was recognized by putting them on the parking lot. This ensured they wouldn’t be lost, that they can be followed up on outside the meeting, but allowed this meeting to stay on track.

Schedule breaks at a decent interval. Once an hour may be too often, but two hours is too far apart. A 10 or 15 minute break every 90 minutes is just about right. That allows for personal needs, phone calls and emails, etc. without losing momentum.

If you notice that someone has not been participating, ask them a specific open-ended question; that is, one that requires an answer other than yes or no.

Finish the meeting on time. Honor the contract. Reward participants for a job well done and make your future meetings less of something to dread.

Show some appreciation. Remember that the participants’ regular work accrued while they were in this meeting. (No one has the shoemaker’s elves looking after them.) A sincere thank you is a good way to end on a positive note.

Following through. I love the immediate gratification I get from seeing the results when I do woodworking. Everyone likes a sense of accomplishment. Inform participants of the results.

So, to recap:

• Start on time
• Go over the purpose of the meeting, including deliverables
• Go over the ground rules
• Recognize the meeting participants
• Go over the agenda
• Re-state the deliverables
• Keep the meeting on track
• Encourage participation
• Finish the meeting on time
• Conclude the meeting on a positive note of appreciation
•  Follow through

If you follow these guidelines, you should have a worthwhile meeting.