Date: 2/7/2017

Title: EFFECTIVE MEETINGS – Part 1

By Jennifer Erickson

Meetings. Ick! Most people hate them. Most people say “we have too many meetings”. Sometimes, you may even have a meeting to talk about what you discussed at the last meeting….but don’t ever move forward to a decision and completion of a goal. No wonder people say ‘Ick’ when the topic of meetings comes up. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can run effective meetings.

The first question to ask is “why”. You might have thought the first question would be “what”, as in “what shall we talk about”. Or, maybe you thought it would be “how”, as in “how should I construct the agenda.” The first questions to ask is “why”, as in “why am I calling this meeting.” If you struggle to answer that, then don’t hold the meeting.

Ask yourself if the topic can wait until the next regularly scheduled time? Or, could it be handled by email? If you have a good answer to your “why” question, then proceed forward.

Meetings are effective when you have a clear purpose, an agenda to keep the discussion on track, a specified amount of time, and clear expectations of team members’ behaviors.

To learn more about how to practice this understanding, contact Results Group, LLC at www.ResultsGroupLLC.com or 515-330-2866.