If you're in an intermediate management position, it is estimated that you will spend approximately 35% of your time in a meeting. That's a significant figure and will involve removing key team members from their positions for a large portion of that time too.
For many in the workplace, the most precious commodity is their time. This means that it's vital that those meetings are concise, productive and most importantly, relevant. But are they? Or is having a meeting about a meeting just as counter-productive as it sounds?
If a meeting is structured, has a clear direction, and all participants are well prepared, it will provide more pros than cons. Relevant personnel will be on the same page about issues which allows for efficient and effective completion of tasks.
If the opposite occurs, however, as research leads us to believe that it commonly does; staff begin to feel that their time spent in meetings is wasted time which can have a negative impact on their morale.
For constructive meetings to take place, there are a range of simple steps that will help to keep the balance in the boardroom and ensure effective use of your time.
Top time management tips for meetings include:
• Insist that all participants are well prepared
• Set a time limit and stick to it (take it outside, walking meetings are notoriously faster as participants get straight to the point)
• Stick to an agenda
• Consider if a meeting is necessary or if a problem can be solved via email or phone call
While meetings can be an organic way of thinking abstractly, tapping into new ideas from other team members and sparking spontaneous creativity, there are some cases where teams meet for meeting sake rather than to develop and flesh out valid and important ideas.
Next time you're arranging a meeting consider the tips above to ensure you're getting the most out of your team's time.
