How Effective Are Your Meetings?

The challenge in many organizations is not just that there are too many
meetings, but that there are too many poorly run meetings. As a result people
waste time and energy instead of getting "real work" done.
Here is a checklist I use in my programs as I observe and provide real time
coaching. How is your team doing?
Structure
Did the meeting start on time?
Is there a published agenda?
Was the agenda sent out ahead of time?
Are the most important items on the agenda first?
Did people prepare for the meeting? What did they do?
Dialogue and Discussion Dynamics
Are all team members engaged and participating?
Does the team go beyond information sharing in its dialogue?
Do team members challenge each other?
Do people express differences of opinions, even when unpopular?
Are there repercussions for speaking the truth?
Decision Making Dynamics
Is the team focused on agreement or commitment?
How does the collective style of the group impact problem solving and decision
making?
Is the team closing out on decisions?
Are decisions and actions summarized at the end of the meeting?
Is there a tracking mechanism to monitor decision progress?
General Dynamics of Team
Do people generally respect each other, enjoy each others' presence, act as
colleagues?
Are there signs of trust - asking for help, offering help, apologizing, being
vulnerable?
Is the team focused on overall team goals versus individual responsibilities,
silos, and egos.
What individual team member habits impact conversation (laughing,
exaggerated words, body language and reactions, rambling, too many
stories/examples, etc.)?

Leader Dynamics
What is the leader doing to encourage discussion?
What is the leader doing to blunt conversation?
One of the results of a poorly run meeting is limited input. I often hear leaders
say "I want my people to contribute more in our team meetings."
What most leaders don't realize is that limited conversation is often the result of
their individual behaviors. For example, I recently attended a client's team
meeting and noticed that he would ramble on for several minutes at a time and
then ask "any questions?" and without hesitation begin talking again.
And, he didn't even know he was doing it.
Do you want to generate more conversation in your meetings? Then, keep
reading.
In addition to the checklist above for how to conduct a better meeting, try these
three ideas for how to generate more conversation in the meeting.
Ask open ended questions instead of closed ended questions. Questions
such as "Do you think this training will help us?" has only two possible answers Yes or No. Phrased differently, "How do you think this training will help us?" will
generate fuller responses. If you decide to start a conversation with closedended questions, follow-up immediately with an open-ended question to give
momentum to the conversation.
Lead with questions, then pause. It often takes people 10-15 seconds to
process a question. For some, that may result in an uncomfortable length of
silence. Try this as an example. With no one around ask a question. Look at your
watch and time yourself for 15 seconds. 10-15 seconds is a seemingly long time.
But, the best leaders, communicators, and negotiators are OK with silence
because they know it's a tool to prompt a response. Give people time to process
your open-ended questions by pausing.
Be aware of others' body language. People often telegraph intent through
their body language. In some cases you may see people interested in
contributing, but they may be uncomfortable speaking up without hearing others
speak first. If you see body language that implies someone is interested in
speaking, make eye contact with the person. That often prompts a response. Or,
if it doesn't, simply ask "what are your thoughts?"

The challenge in too many meetings is that leaders look for agreement instead
of commitment. Agreement typically results in people simply nodding their
heads in meetings and then failing to take action afterwards.
Commitment, on the other hand, results in action. And commitment only
comes from dialogue, conversation, debate, and conflict.
Say tuned for a more in-depth article on agreement versus commitment.
In the mean time, try the ideas above.
Sal Silvester is the founder and president of 5.12 Solutions (five-twelve) and
author of "The Ultimate Goal Setting Guide" and "Ignite! The 4 Essential Rules
for Emerging Leaders".
Working with teams and leaders is Sal's passion, and his unique perspective has
been nurtured through his experience over the past 19 years as an Army Officer,
an executive at Accenture, and founder of 5.12 Solutions. He has led and
managed teams in the desert of Kuwait, the mountains of Turkey, and in the
offices of many clients on process improvement, organizational change, and
training projects.