And yet, so many organisations experience less than fully productive meetings.

If you added up the time wasted in meetings in your organisation, what would the dollar value be? Or to put it in positive terms, what would be the bottom line value of holding far more effective meetings?

Here are 21 ideas that have helped other organisations achieve significant productivity benefits through more effective meetings.

1. Cut down your total meeting time – Meetings tend to fall into 2 categories – (1) to share information, and (2) to solve problems or create opportunities.

If it is the first of these, consider whether the same thing can be achieved by other means (eg email or memos). If it is the latter, consider holding less frequent more effective meetings with more people in them.

On this second point, most organisations underestimate what can be achieved in properly facilitated large group multi stakeholder meetings or workshops. In fact, the best way that we know how to simultaneously run and change any organisation is through six monthly meetings with a representation of all relevant stakeholder groups. Run properly, such meetings result in enormously effective outcomes and the need for less meeting time overall.

However, even if you are not willing to go this far, an interim step is to use what we call the ’3×3 rule’. At any meeting make sure that staff include 3 different functions and 3 different levels.

If you hold regular staff meetings, ask yourself whether they are as important as you think. The reason “that’s the way we have always done it” is a poor excuse for doing anything. If in doubt, stop holding them and see what happens.

2. Create a pithy positive purpose – This is a maximum of 2 lines that will inform your meeting and hopefully generate some passion from attendees.

3. Clarify the outcomes – Document the outcomes that you think would come from an effective meeting.

4. Consider who to invite – We have already said it but consider inviting more stakeholders than you normally would.

5. Start on time –- Many meeting leaders arrive late to their meetings. This is not only a waste of other’s productive time but most importantly sends a signal of disrespect. Barring a personal emergency, there is absolutely no reason for being late to your own meeting. This is an incredibly important aspect of holding effective meetings.

6. State the purpose at the outset – This takes literally 10 seconds but will mean that everybody is on the same wavelength.

7. Set enough time – A common mistake that leaders and facilitators alike make is to try to get done more than what is achievable within a given time frame. Don’t make this mistake. If you wish for the meeting to be effective, then it is worth giving the right amount of time to it.

8. If needed, appoint a recorder/secretary – Many find that it is sufficient to record any decisions made and action agreed-upon, and that anything above this is often wasted.

9. If needed, appoint a timekeeper – It is often difficult to keep track of both the meeting and the time. Try this and see the difference it makes. The timekeeper needs to be strong enough to come in when people are approaching and/or over their allocated time.

10. Action from previous meeting – If the meeting is part of a regular series of meetings, recount each of the action plans that were agreed on at the previous meeting and have the responsible person or people indicate where they have got to with it. (This makes it clear that people will be held accountable.)

11. End on time – Again this sends a signal of respect to the attendees. The one exception to this is ifall attendees agree to extend the finish time.

12. Control what you can, let go what you can’t – There are only 2 things you can control in a meeting – the meetings structure and your own behaviour. What you CANNOT control is the behaviour of others or when the group is ready to reveal hidden agendas or when attendees are ready to take responsibility. So stop trying.

13. Hear attendee’s interest – A really effective way to start non-regular meetings is to quickly hear from each attendee as to their interest in being at the meeting. Set a time limit (eg 1 min per person) and stick to it. Invite people to be open about their reason for attending.

14. Use the Go Around – This involves quickly going around the room and giving each person the opportunity to say how they see the situation. It is very simple but very effective. Again set a time limit (eg 2-3 mins each) and strictly stick to the time limit. This is one of the best tips for running effective meetings.

15. Find common ground – A group is more likely to take action to effect change where they have come to some agreement as to the desired future. This usually takes the form of agreement around the strategic areas that require focusing on in order to achieve the purpose.

16. Ask attendees how you can improve future meetings – The best way to do this without it becoming a whinge session is to first ask “What has worked well in our meetings in the past”. Once the group has explored that, then ask “What can we do to make them even more efefctive”.

17. Be willing to an experimenter and learner – Leading highly effective meetings is not easy and not natural. Be open to trying different things and learning from them.

18. Work on your own individual development – In some ways this is probably the most important point. Implementing a lot of the above points requires a combination of internal strength, willpower and humility. As just one example, a good meeting leader opens himself or herself up to criticism and must be willing to be disliked. Getting to this point requires working on one’s own growth and development.

19. Action planning – The last step of any meeting should be devoted to action planning – who is going to do what by when.

20. Restate the action – Take the final minutes of the meeting to restate the commitments that people have made.

21. Consider investing in an external facilitator – Where the meeting is important enough, consider whether you would get sufficient return for your money by engaging an external expert facilitator. (You may not only benefit directly from a more effective meeting but also through observation of the facilitator).

For our free paper on 7 Steps to Catapulting Your Organisation to Success and Greatness, see top left-hand signup on this page.

These 10 principles are drawn from Marv Weisbord and Sandra Janoff’s book Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!: Ten Principles for Leading Meetings That Matter.

1. You need a model or map that demonstrates how management theory and practice has evolved over time; and
2. You need to compare you own situation with that model or map.

The Evolution of Management

The diagram to the right demonstrates the model or map showing how management theory and practice has evolved over the last 100 years.

You will notice that there are 2 aspects to this evolution.

1. Glass Half Full - In the first half of the 20th Century, the focus was on problem solving – looking at the negative things or glass half rmpty. In the second half of the Century, the focus moved towards “Improving Whole Systems” – looking at future opportunities or the glass half full.

As an example of this, instead of focusing on all the problems, a club kitchen would first focus on what it is doing well and then improve on that. Likewise, football team would not talk about ‘missed tackles’ but instead focus on what working defensively and then work to make it better. (There is an entire management approach that has been built up around this called ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ – ie inquiring into that which you appreciate.)

2. From Experts to Everybody - From 1965 to 2000+, you’ll notice a move from the idea that ‘experts’ have the right answers to the idea that ‘everybody’ has the right answers. The former is reflected in ‘autocratic leadership’ where the ‘expert’ is external consultants, academics or, worst of all, management themselves. The latter is reflected in ‘democratic leadership’ where it is understood that all relevant stakeholder groups have important information and knowledge to bring to bear in effecting change.

Every organisation (including every club) is at some point along this continuum. The further to the 2000+ end of the continuum, the more effective will be your club.

What’s Your Position on the Continuum?

Are you in the 1950’s, 60’s or 2000+? Don’t laugh. There are still a few clubs out there that are stuck in the first half of the last century, and plenty that are stuck in the 1960’s.

Below are some indicators that will give you an idea of whether you are using the emerging most effective approach of ‘Everybody Improves the Whole System’.

• The club’s staff are enthusiastic and highly involved.
• Significant teamwork and collaboration exist within your club
• You are satisfied with your club’s performance
• The overall morale in the club is high
• The last strategic plan was developed with the involvement of a cross section of stakeholder groups in such a way that it generated energy and enthusiasm towards ongoing collaborative action.
• Club staff take action consistent with the idea that they have responsibility (as opposed to holding back and waiting for direction from others).
• Staff members view their own personal development as critical.
• Staff are amenable to change.
• Shared decision-making is common at the club