Meetings are overrated.
Of course, they’re essential. It’s hard to create a collective aim for your team without them; they provide a forum for different group members. That said, once you have one meeting, it’s easy to start a meeting domino effect.
“Let’s schedule a meeting for that” and “Let me send over the meeting invite” is something you hear every day. It’s not rare to find yourself with 5 back-to-back meetings. Do you spend your days actually working? Or do you spend your days having meetings about working?
The goal shouldn’t be to eradicate meetings. Rather, make them more efficient.
First things first:
What is the goal of the meeting?
If you can’t answer this question you shouldn’t have a meeting.
If you have a vague idea, it’s probably not a great enough reason. The ones that are created specifically for daily updates and team building should be considered a “stand-up” meeting. Just a nice 15-minute allotment where team members can share any updates and discuss areas where they need help.
Anything longer than 20 minutes is not a stand-up meeting. If it’s running for a long period of time, it brings up the question of why. Unless you’re opting for a brainstorming session, every meeting should have an agenda. With the shift to remote work, many meetings are virtual as opposed to being held at a conference table. Online meetings have numerous advantages, but they can also result in less formal arrangements, such as ignoring the agenda since you’re “just jumping on a call.” It’s usually not a big deal in the beginning, but it will eventually (and inevitably) become a huge time-sucker for everyone involved.
Alternatives to meetings
Mark Cuban prefers email over in-person meetings, according to Thrive Global. “Love it. Live on it. Saves me hours and hours every day. No meetings. No phone calls. All because of email. I set my schedule. If there’s a problem and we need to solve it, I’ll do a call,”
“Other than that, I keep communication limited to email. It’s more efficient,” said Cuban.
While email isn’t always the answer, we have all heard the joke that “this meeting could have been an email,” and like most jokes, there is truth in it. There is a multitude of benefits to having everything in writing. If you can keep things simplified and send the details as a message, you are creating a recorded paper trail of everything discussed.
When things have to be discussed in person or over the phone, remember Parkinson’s law: meetings will take as much time as we set aside for them. There are many benefits to adjourning a meeting as soon as the goals have been met. Of course, this is where an agenda comes in handy. A skilled facilitator is usually the difference between an efficient meeting and another pointless get-together. In other words: your meeting is only as good as its facilitator.
The purpose of meetings is not to talk–the purpose of meetings is to arrive at ideas, solutions, plans and decisions. – Alexander Kjerulf
Here are the facts: most employees hate meetings. Most meetings aren’t successful. Short, concentrated meetings that keep the group focused on objectives, get through hurdles, and accomplish goals are beneficial for teams in any industry. It encourages a team-oriented environment that is effective and can help increase innovative problem-solving and output. Meetings that are dragged out without intention, are incredibly time-consuming and often pointless. Good leadership can effectively navigate your team through meetings, both short and long. To learn more, click here.