Another Meeting – What A Waste Of Time!
The Reasons Why Most Meetings Are A Waste Of Time!
How do meetings impact your business? The reason I was talking about this today
on LinkedIn Live, was because I was talking to a partner in a vet practice. He was
bemoaning the fact that the team have all these great ideas, and talk about stuff
they say they are going to do, but ultimately none of it actually gets done.
The discussion turned to what is actually happening in their meetings. And it’s a
similar story to many businesses I talk to.
So many people tell me how they hate meetings as they see them as a waste of
time, something to be endured and not enjoyed. And the reason they hate them
is that nothing productive actually happens. Bob is always complaining. Felicity is
always talking too much and “I” can’t speak, because I get shouted down. James
doesn’t want to be there and sits there with his arms crossed and zoned out! It’s
all a disaster.
And that sums up the problem with most meetings – there is bad behaviour, there
is a lack of commitment and there is no real strategy. And here’s the harsh truth.
The state of your meetings reflects the state of your business.
If your meetings are unengaged, unproductive and everyone feels they are a waste
of time, the chances are the rest of your business will be the same.
So how do you turn this state of affairs into having ‘Perfect Meetings’.
1. Instead of Bad Behaviour – we want people turning up as adults in our meetings.
So, we need to create adult-to-adult conversations and make the standards of
behaviour clear.
2. Instead of no strategy, we need to focus and prioritise. We want to be able to
work on the important things. If we don’t then we end up talking about nothing
that matters. If you only hold meetings to deal with important stuff then people
will turn up with a different mindset. They will feel the time has been well
spent, useful and that they have learned something, or had an impact, or been
listened to.
3. And instead of a lack of commitment (which is born out of the lack of purpose
and the bad behaviour) to do the things they have said they will do – we want
ACTION and IMPLEMENTATION. If people show up and do what they say they
are going to do, then it is massively powerful. It makes people feel empowered
and energised, and they are more likely to look forward to the next one!
If you can create that sort of business, only meeting to discuss important things,
with engaged people who go off and implement something – then you are going
to not only have more productive meetings, but the business itself will be moving
forwards.
So, do you have a strategy for your meetings, do people show up as adults, and
do your people have the commitment to taking action? Perfect meetings create a
better business.
If you would like to watch this live – check it out here. And if you want to find
out more about how we deal with these issues in the Leaders Launchpad, drop me
a quick message to [email protected]