| Meetings are valuable components of organisations. | | | | 6. The Leader Doesn't Lead Here there is free-for-all, |
| Yet they need process, discipline and leadership | | | | with no leadership from the chair. Poor behaviours, |
| facilitation to work best. Here are some indicators to | | | | timekeeping and outcomes riddle this sort of meeting, |
| watch out for to highlight where things may be going | | | | with and end no-result and frayed-tempered, frustrated |
| wrong. | | | | people. |
| 1. No Agenda When there is no agenda, there is no | | | | 7. Environment Too hot, too cold, no water, no breaks, |
| opportunity to prepare, no framework for the meeting | | | | too big, too small. Have you ever been in one of those |
| and no purpose. When this happens a lot, there is a | | | | meetings? And aren't they awful, so awful in fact that |
| tendency for 5 below. | | | | you can't do your best. This is a meeting where the |
| 2. Wrong people there Ever been to a meeting where | | | | organisers do not respect the participants. |
| there was no logical purpose for you to be there? | | | | 8. Nothing Happens A lovely chat, a few |
| Meeting time is valuable and it is important for | | | | disagreements and ‘see you next month'. This is |
| efficiency and effectiveness that as few people | | | | the nice-to-have meeting which does nothing and goes |
| attend as purposeful. People should appreciate that | | | | nowhere. As Peter Drucker said, ‘Meetings are a |
| non-attendance at a particular meeting is OK and get | | | | symptom of bad organization. The fewer meetings the |
| used to it. | | | | better'. |
| 3. Overrun Those times when you sit in a meeting and | | | | 9. Side-tracked/New Stuff With an agenda, people |
| watch your life slip away, are those that happened | | | | know what the meeting will be about - or will they. |
| with poor meeting management. There is nothing | | | | Even with the best agenda'd meeting weak processes |
| worse than unkept promises (and meetings are just | | | | tend to leave to new issues, side-tracking and wasted |
| that - a contract to the participants time) and must be | | | | time. This is solvable with effort from the facilitator. |
| honoured. Everyone has a role here. | | | | 10. No Review and Growth Meetings come and go |
| 4. Indiscipline Many meeting participants do not know | | | | and are always awful. They are unproductive, boring, |
| how to behave. These are things about them and their | | | | overrun and people are there who shouldn't be. If there |
| ego, lack of self-confidence and poor behaviours (out | | | | is no review of just how good or bad the meeting has |
| side the meeting too). Lack of courtesy, understanding | | | | been, there will be no improvement. The leader |
| and space for others to say their piece is inexcusable | | | | facilitator can add in meeting feedback as the first |
| and not constructive for the outcome. | | | | agenda item and stick to it - tough at first but gets |
| 5. The Leader Leads Here the meeting is at the beck | | | | easier. |
| and call of the leader or chair who really is holding | | | | Just ten things to watch out for - maybe a sign, or |
| court for themselves. This sort of meeting is about | | | | maybe something deeper about you, your organisation |
| them showing that they are democratic, but they are | | | | or your people? Were does the responsibility lie for |
| nothing of the sort. This is a rubber-stamping meeting | | | | changing that for the better? |
| and is of little or no value. | | | | |