How to Lead Awesomely Organized Meetings
It’s Monday morning and I have three meetings to attend today!
I’m ready! I have organized all my paperwork needed for each meeting and have made notes. The individuals who called the meetings have provided agendas, so I have an idea of what is expected of me and all the other participants at the appointed times.
There is nothing like attending a meeting with no focus or plan. Click To Tweet
Here is my take on some techniques you can use to streamline your own meetings, from Simplify Your Workday by Barbara Hemphill:
Circulate your agenda ahead of time.
There is nothing like attending a meeting with no focus or plan. That’s what an agenda will offer. Take the time to type it and send to the participants so they can come to your meeting prepared.
Invite only those who need to attend.
You will cut down on the amount of time for the meeting if only the essential people attend. In addition, everyone will get a chance to voice their ideas.
Keep to your agenda.
Use your agenda as the guide for the meeting to stay focused and be productive. Enough time is wasted during the work day. Don’t be the cause of more lost time.
Always begin your meeting right on time.
You can start things off on the right foot by beginning promptly and watching the clock to end on time as well.
Push for decisions.
You are wasting your time and everyone else’s if you don’t walk away with decisions made, so let that be your purpose for the meeting.
Schedule wisely.
You can stay on track by allotting a certain amount of time for each agenda item. Note how much time you are allotting for each item on the agenda so everyone is aware.
Take stock.
What I mean here is to take it seriously. You are asking people to spend their valuable time to meet with you. Above all, don’t waste it, because if you do they may not take you seriously the next time you call a meeting.
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Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Great reminders! I have a tendency to wait until everyone expected has arrived before starting, and this is not only unfair to those who have made the effort to be on time, but it sends out the message that start times are fluid, so even more people might show up late in the future.
I agree. I used to run a meeting that (because of traffic) there was always at least one late person. I started on time and it was the responsibility of the late person to find out what they missed.
I used to attend a monthly meeting where the leader began on time no matter what. He always said, “I want to honor those who have arrived on time by starting when we agreed.” That always meant so much to me! Time truly is a valuable asset, even when we are staying at home. Starting on time and keeping the meeting from dragging on shows respect and makes people want to attend. Once you start trying to accommodate the late, then everyone “learns” this and arrives later… it is a downward spiral.
Yes. Time is valuable for all of us and wasting it to appease the late party is not fair.
These days, with all of the Zoom meetings and calls, it feels especially annoying if things are chaotic. A virtual meeting is different from managing an in-person meeting, but some rules apply to both. One of the things I’ve noticed is that there seems to be less management of the Zoom meetings. I find it irritating when that happens. And sometimes, when the sessions are more casual, this is especially true. One of the reoccurring issues is that an individual can dominate the meeting and not allow others to participate. I think we all have a lot to learn, including me.
Depending on the type of meeting, sometimes it’s beneficial to hire a facilitator – they provide a neutral voice that runs the agenda, and they co-create the agenda with whoever is calling the meeting – it frees up the meeting planner to really participate in discussion and decision-making and less watching the clock. Lots of facilitators have experience running online meetings, but you do have to ask about that if you’re considering hiring one.
Full discloser: I am a facilitator!
I love your points here Janet, especially (a) circulate your agenda in advance; (b) invite only those who need to attend; and (c) take it seriously!
Thanks Gina. I have attended meetings with a facilitator and as anything else, having a profession lead the group is beneficial. They keep everyone on track and make sure there is understanding on all points. I like knowing that we are focusing on the stated agenda and acting on it.