LEADING EFFECTIVE

MEETINGS
By: Kimara Ellefson

Meetings often
contain at least one
moron that
inevitably gets his
turn to waste
everyones time with
nonsense.

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a bod inutes
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Meetings
procreate. One
meeting leads to
another meeting
leads to another

Fried, Jason, and David H. Hansson. "REWORK: The New Business Book from
37signals." 37signals: Web-based Collaboration Apps for Small Business. 37signals,
6 Feb. 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://37signals.com/rework/>.

FACT:
Research shows that the average
individual in our society today will
sit through 9,000 hours of meetings in
their lifetime! That is over 365 days
spent in meetings not to mention
the thousands and sometimes
millions of dollars spent on meetings.

ABOUT ME
13

Years at MCW
Administrative role
Spent roughly1,820 hours in meetings over
the last yearwhich means in the 13 years at
MCW spent 23,660 hours in meetings
So much time in meetingsblock off two
hours every day just to NOT be in meetings
Truly believe in the power of meetings...good
and bad.

DO YOU DREAD GOING TO

MEETINGS?
Take a moment to recall your last team meeting:
What does it look and feel like?
How well does your team function?
Who always talks and who never talks?
How does the group make decisions?
Are team members accountable for their contributions
to the team?
Works Cited: Pigeon, Ed.D, Yvette, and Omar Khan, MD. "Leadership Lesson - Tools for Effective
Team Meetings." AAMC. AAMC, 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.aamc.org>.

PROBLEM WITH MEETINGS

Boring

Lack

conflict

Ineffective/Time Wasting
Lack

appropriate context or structure

Lack of focus

Forget what is at stake

If

there isnt much at stake, dont meet!

FIVE CONCEPTS FOR LEADING

EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
1. Set the stage-Why do I care/What is at stake?
2. Mine for conflict-actively engage all viewpoints
3. Dont wait for consensus-get all ideas out-then
LEAD
4. Drive to Conclusion
5. Everyone supports/takes action/is accountable

PLANNING AND PREPARING

YOUR MEETING

Perhaps the most important time you will spend in a meeting

is the time you spend before the meeting even starts

SETTING THE STAGE

Determine the Purpose

To develop your purpose for the meeting ask

yourself the following questions:
o

What is at stake?

Why am I holding the meeting?

What do I want to achieve at the meeting?

What do I want to achieve after the meeting?

Tip: Before you begin to move forward with

planning your meeting decide whether or not a
meeting is the best way to accomplish your
meeting purpose.

Prepare a Meeting Plan

Determining a meeting type will help
simplify your planning process
o
o
o
o
o

Meet to solve a problem

Make decisions
Gather to share information
Hear a presentation
Brainstorm ideas

THE FOUR MEETINGS

Meeting Type

Daily Check-in

Weekly Tactical

Monthly Strategic

Time
Required

Purpose and Format

Share daily schedules and
activities

Dont sit down

Keep it administrative
Dont cancel even when
some people cannot be
there

Review weekly activities and

metrics, and resolve tactical
obstacles and issues

Dont set agenda until after

initial reporting
Postpone strategic
discussions

Discuss, analyze, brainstorm,

and decide upon critical
issues affecting long-term
success

Review strategy, industry

trends, competitive
landscape, key personnel, &
team development

5 minutes

45-90
minutes

2-4 hours

Keys to Success

Limit to one or two topics

Prepare and do research
Engage in good conflict

Get out of office

Focus on work; limit social
Quarterly Off-site
1-2 days
activities
Review

over structure or
Information from Patrick Lencionis Book, Death by Dont
Meeting
overburden the schedule

DEFINE: CONTENT & PROCESS

PROCESS

Refers to how the

meeting proceeds, how
the group works
together to accomplish
task(s), and to build and
maintain cohesiveness

CONTENT
Refers to what is talked about at the meeting,
the agenda topics, decisions, information,
opinions, etc.

IDENTIFY MEETING
PARTICIPANTS
To determine who should attend follow these guidelines:
o
o
o
o

Invite those with relevant information or expertise

Invite those who will make the final decision
Invite people who are affected by or will carry out a decision
Consider inviting anyone who might significantly prevent
or interfere with the implementation of a decision
Invite individuals with higher functional responsibility

Tip: Invite as few people as possible while still being inclusive.

This varies based on the purpose and intent of the meeting.

IDENTIFY GROUP ROLES

Leader

Responsible

Timekeeper

for managing the meeting

Keeps

time and lets participants know

when it is time to move to the next agenda item

Note Taker
Keeps

written record of proceedings

Writes

important points of discussion and lists of

Chart Person
ideas.

Navigator
Keep

group on track

PREPARE THE AGENDA

o Agenda: Very simply Things to be done
o Sequence: Arrange your agenda with the
most important items first and least
important last in case time runs out
o Timing: Assign realistic times to each
item, this will determine how long the
meeting will last and will enable you to
figure out if you have too much on the
agenda

EFFECTIVE AGENDAS
INCLUDE:
o
o

o
o
o

Meeting Purpose-What is at stake?

Meeting Logistics (Date, Time, Roles,
Participants)
Agenda Items
Times
Assignments (Report out, etc. )

Every minute you avoid spending in a meeting is

a minute you can get real work done instead

Communicating to Participants
Includes:
o
o
o
o
o

What is at stake?
Who? When? Where?
Logistics
Meeting Agenda
Any special instructions regarding
participant preparation

Tip: Leaders should not be the only person coming to the

meeting prepared. Therefore, providing information
ahead of time will increase the chances of better
productivity during your meeting.

SUMMARY:
SETTING THE STAGE

Create a statement of Purpose/Outcomes

Ask

yourself What do I want the purpose of this

meeting to be and what are the potential outcomes?

Prepare a Meeting Plan

Determine

Meeting Type
Define Content & Process
Identify Meeting Participants/Group Roles
Determine Meeting Logistics
Prepare the Agenda

Communicate with Participants

All these should take place before meeting starts!

CONDUCTING
MEETINGS

LEAD, LEAD, LEAD

When you lead a meeting, you are a leader and

all leadership principles apply:
Provide

structure
Encourage participation
Be decisive
Hold participants accountable

Start Fast
o

Starting on Time Communicate the

seriousness of starting on time. Wasting
peoples time equals less time working on
other projects
Stay Focused Do not allow for other work
to be done

Tip: Arrange the meeting room that supports dialogue

and better communication.
Request that cell phones, laptops, iPads not be used
during the meetings, i.e. for checking emails

FIRST MEETING:
UTILIZE INTRODUCTORY
ACTIVITIES
Set aside 5-15 minutes for introductory items to
help get the meeting started.

Welcome & Introductions

Meeting Purpose
Process
Ground Rules
Meeting Agenda
Parking Lot

MINE FOR CONFLICT

Goals:
o
o
o
o

Keep the Meeting Focused

Encourage Full Participation

Attend to the Pace

Handle Counterproductive Behavior

Its your job to encourage everyones full

participation

WAYS TO MINE FOR CONFLICT

Directly Solicit Input from Everyone

Ask Open-ended Questions
Actively Listen to Others, Be Attentive to Body
Language
Reinforce and Acknowledge Positive Participation
Ask for Concrete Examples
Be Supportive

Tip: Always maintain control. Dont forget you are the Leader.
Dont allow another participant to take that role from you.

HANDLE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE
BEHAVIORS
Six Behaviors That May Cause Problems:
Overly Talkative
Definitely Wrong
Highly Argumentative
Obstinate
Side Conversations
Wont Talk

TIPS ON HOW TO HANDLE

Overly Talkative

When they pause for a breath take

that time to thank them for input,
refocus attention on subject, and
move on.

Highly Argumentative

Stay calm! Try to find merit in point

and then move on. May also seek
groups opinion. If necessary ask to
speak privately.

Side Conversation

Casually walk to and stand beside

the side conversation. Ask one of the
parties an easy question or restate
your last point and ask for their
opinion. Pause and wait for them to
notice.

Definitely Wrong

Never embarrass the individual. Say

you may not have heard them
correctly and ask them to rephrase
the comment.

Obstinate

Throw out issues/ideas for open group

discussion. Ask group if they agree
or disagree.

Wont Talk

Bored: around interest by asking

their opinion
Uninvolved: Engage person seated
next to them, then gradually shift
focus to draw them in
Shy or Insecure: Support with sincere
compliment after first time opening

DRIVE TO CONCLUSION
Often we walk away from a meeting feeling
that nothing is accomplished. Follow these
steps below to help create closure to the
meeting:
o

Summarize what has been accomplished

Compare the accomplishments with the

desired outcomes

Identify unfinished agenda items and

determine ways to address them

GET BUY-IN AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Complete an action plan who will do what and
when?
Summarize Action Items
Delegate follow up responsibilities

DISTRIBUTING MINUTES

Minutes should be handed out to everyone attending

the meeting
Give direction to participants to review the minutes
and action items
If these are ongoing meetings, the minutes become
the start of the next agenda

SUMMARY
Remember to:
Be a LEADer
Start Fast
Mine for Conflict
Drive to Conclusion
Hold everyone accountable

EFFECTIVE MEETINGS PRODUCE

RESULTS
The clock represents our commitments,
appointments, schedules, goals and activities what
we do with and how we manage our time. The compass
represents our vision, values, principles, mission,
conscience, direction what we feel is important and
how we lead our lives.
The struggle comes when we sense a gap between the
clock and the compass when what we do doesnt
contribute to what is most important in our lives.
Stephen Covey

MEETING RESOURCES
Best-selling author Patrick
Lencioni provides readers with
another powerful and thoughtprovoking book, this one
centered around a cure for the
most painful yet
underestimated problem of
modern business: bad
meetings. And what he
suggests is both simple and
revolutionary.

Information and research gathered for this presentation was from Patrick Lencionis
book, Death by Meeting