The art & science of running great meetings

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We need to talk about meetings.

If you're anything like me, you've probably been in your fair share of bad meetings.

A recent tweet about meetings sparked an incredible amount of reactions.

Why?

Meetings eat your time, disturb your flow, and drain your energy - I'm sure you could list 20 other reasons why you'd rather skip your next meeting.

At the same time, a well-run meeting can be the opposite:

• Energising

• Motivating

• Fun & social

• Solve problems

• Give clarity & direction

Unfortunately, very few people know how to run a good meeting.

As a project leader, knowing how to run a great meeting is a shortcut to team performance, project success, and career opportunities.

Here's how you do it:

First, I have to get something off my chest

There's no such thing as an update meeting.

Please, stop it.

You report in writing, so people can read it whenever works for them. It also allows you to fine-tune the message for different stakeholders. If project reporting is a topic you'd like to learn more about, hit reply and let me know!

With that out of the way, you should always know what the purpose of your meeting is. The key is to never mix purposes. Some examples:

• Problem solving & brainstorming

• Strategic thinking & planning

• Decisions & alignment

• Planning & traction

• 1:1 relationships

Having a clear purpose allows you to prepare the meeting accordingly, and people will understand what's expected from them. Switching halfway through from structured planning to free-form brainstorming is a recipe for disaster and confusion.

Before the meeting

Before you send an invite, you need to have a clear purpose and outcome in mind. What is is that you want to achieve with this meeting? With that in mind, you can reverse-engineer the process.

If you do the preparation well, half the job is done. You'll often find that by writing a great pre-read for the meeting, you'll discover you won't need a meeting at all. A great pre-read:

• Clearly states what role each attendee has

• Explains the purpose & objectives of the meeting

• Provides necessary background information, data & context

• Includes an agenda with time slots for each part of the meeting

• Clear instructions on how to prepare, what to bring, and how to join (incl digital)

Use a scheduling tool to avoid calendar clashes and 10 emails back & forth, and respect people's working hours. Book a slot that allows for enough time to reach the outcome, but not more.

Top tip: send this article to your IT department, and ask them to set the default meeting duration to 25min instead of an hour. Why 25mins? Half an hour is enough for 90% of meetings, and by scheduling them as 25min you have time to grab a coffee in between. Thank me later.

Finally, invite only those you really need. When in doubt, it's a no.

Once your invite is sent, the real work starts.

Have you ever seen someone thrown under the proverbial bus in a meeting?

No bueno.

Talk to people 1:1 ahead of your meeting. Pre-digest decisions with key stakeholders. Your goal is to have as few surprises as possible.

Starting your meeting

Always check who has accepted, so you're not surprised by an empty chair. Get the room (digital or physical) ready a little ahead of time, set up your slides/tools, and grab a coffee. You'd undo all your groundwork by showing up late or unprepared.

Once you start (on time!) take care of housekeeping. No phones/laptops, review the meeting purpose & agenda, and make sure everyone knows their contribution. If the meeting requires notes, establish who takes them.

Last but not least, nail your opening. This is like an email headline. You have a very short window to reel people in, or they'll tap out, lean back, and wait until the meeting is over. Start with a strong statement, a good question, a joke, or surprise pastries.

Running your meeting

Once you've started, your role as facilitator is to orchestrate. Stick to the agenda, and politely park off-topic items. Don't make sure that everyone speaks, make sure everyone feels heard. That means that even if people don't talk, you check in with them before moving on - often a nudge or eye contact is enough.

If necessary, remind people of their role & contribution, and encourage them to stay constructive. Slowly but surely, steer the conversation toward the outcome well ahead of time.

Before everyone runs out, quickly review the agenda and the outcomes. This is the moment for anyone to speak up! If there's consensus, agree on next steps and check if everyone is on board. Actions are useless if people don't feel ownership.

After the meeting is done

Within 24hrs after the meeting, write the shortest possible summary to all attendees including those who couldn't attend. This summary includes who was there, what was decided, and who does what, by when.

These summaries are often just a few bullets, no 6-page life stories, please.

Last but not least, review if there were any off-topic items you parked during the meeting. If necessary, follow them up 1:1. This is also the moment to provide individual feedback on meeting contributions.

Putting it all together

I get it. It's just a meeting!

Some of this may sound over the top, or like a lot of work.

Hear me out though: if you've done it 20 times, it becomes second nature. And imagine if all your meetings ran on time, and got you the outcome you were after... That's worth a little time spent upfront, right?

If you want your meetings to run like clockwork, hang this above your screen:

• Prepared material

• Clear expectations

• One meeting purpose

• Groomed participants

• Meetings run like a pro

• Agreement on outcomes

• Summarize, follow up & close

And don't hesitate to send an email instead.

If you want even more, this book from Patrick Lencioni is my favorite read about meetings. A quick and insightful read - highly recommended!

That'll do for this week - until next Tuesday!

Cheers,Jasper