Guiding Meetings and Making Decisions

I’m not a fan of meetings. To be fair, I don’t know many people who are. However, I recognize that they are a necessary part of most jobs.

Because we’re likely to spend large chunks of our careers in meetings with our teams, our supervisors, fellow managers, or others, we should at least make sure those get-togethers are meaningful. I believe a good meeting usually results in effective decision-making, and if it’s a meeting I’m running, that’s what I’m hoping to achieve. 

Here are a few steps I follow to keep people on track and moving toward a decision during a work meeting:

• Consider the specifics of the situation. Before the meeting begins, answer several questions. First, and perhaps most importantly, do you need to have a meeting, or could the work to be done be handled via email? (If it could, please consider that option!) Assuming you do need a meeting, have you clearly been put in charge of solving the problem or completing the project that will be discussed? Do the other people with whom you’re working know that? What kind of relationship do you have with them? What’s your deadline? What does your boss expect you to produce as a result of this meeting? Your responses to these questions will inform your actions. If you’re not clear on the answers to any of these questions, ask your supervisor to clarify the situation for you and everyone else. You must know who has authority so you can follow through successfully.
• Start with a written agenda. I’m a big believer in written agendas for meetings. If it’s clear that you’re in charge, you should get down in writing what you hope to accomplish during your next meeting or working period with the group. Keep the agenda focused on your immediate objectives and indicate how much time you will spend on each item. Then send the agenda to other participants at least a day before the meeting. This will give them time to prepare and make it clear, once again, that you are in charge of the project.
• Stick to the agenda as best you can. When I have team meetings, I do my best to get through everything on the agenda. That sometimes means I have to rein in extraneous discussions or table something that needs more exploration for further discussion at another time, and that’s OK. This can be difficult, especially if you’d rather spend time joking around with your colleagues (I try to build in time for that). However, if you’re in charge of a project, you need to keep things moving. How to do so diplomatically and without hurting someone’s feelings is a skill you gain by practice. Pay attention to the discussion and be prepared to act when it’s getting off course. Then assert yourself in a positive way to bring the conversation back to a path that will lead you to solutions and action.
• Listen. You’ll likely go into any team project with definite ideas about what you think should be done and how you should do it. Remember, though, that the point of working as a team is to gather input from people who have different strengths and points of view. Managers who think they know everything and never take advice from their team members are sure to fail. If you are too forceful in stating your opinions from the start, it might intimidate some of your team members into choosing not to share their ideas. Instead, invite them to start the conversation. Listen carefully, restating what others are saying when necessary to make sure you understand. See where the discussion goes, adding your insights along the way to keep things moving toward the right conclusion. Make your opinion clear, but do it naturally, within the flow of conversation, so your contributions are part of the team effort.
• Embrace your decision-making authority. When you’re in a leadership position, the people who work with you expect you to make decisions. It comes with the job. If you’re dealing with several people who have strong—and differing—opinions,      do your best to hear everyone out, weigh the pros and cons of each possible action, and then decide which course to follow. Clearly state your decision and the reasoning behind it. This might upset people who don’t agree with your decision, but making tough calls is part of leadership. The situation will be far worse if people leave the meeting without being clear about what was decided.
• Leave a few minutes for restating decisions and next steps, and end on time. On your agenda, allow 10 minutes or so at the end of the meeting to wrap up the discussion, restate decisions that were made, and make specific assignments or talk about the next steps. Then end the meeting on time. Even if it means you must cut off some discussion, people’s time is valuable, and you need to recognize and appreciate that. Let them know that you’re going to table whatever you couldn’t cover for the next meeting. If the next discussion will require compiling additional data, make sure the people who are responsible for gathering that information know their deadlines for supplying it. 
• Follow up with notes to keep everyone on the same page. I always send notes after running a meeting. In those notes, I clarify what we discussed, what we decided, and who has assignments for the next steps. I also try to include specific deadlines for those assignments. This serves the dual purposes of making sure everyone knows what’s going on and clarifying who oversees various projects and tasks. It also shows that I am responsible for the overall progress and success of the team and that I am working with the team to get things done.

Meetings may not be fun, but they can be effective. If you are clear about what you’re trying to accomplish, provide a written agenda in advance, listen carefully during the meeting, and assert your decision-making authority to keep a project moving, you should be able to resolve problems and complete projects with minimal hurt feelings or heartburn.

What else have you done to make sure the meetings you run are meaningful and focused on achieving results? Share your tips in the comments, and let’s talk about it.