Leadership development: Effective Meeting Management

Your supervisor tells you to be at a meeting. It's a discussion, but several people in the group do all the talking.  The rest of the group is silent. The meeting leader does not appear to notice this.  What is the impact of this on the group, and on the bottom line?

First, some meetings are to share important news, not to discuss matters. That's fine - if it only happens rarely. (Sharing news can also be done by e-mail.)

Second, a leader who allows many people to sit silently during discussions may not know why there is so little participation, what the cost of this is, and strategies to change this.

People are quiet for various reasons. Among them is a lack of interest in the topic, a lack of new information to share because the topic is ancillary to their job (and they may not be appropriate attendees), a fear of speaking in public (and a group to these people is considered to be speaking in public), hearing loss and a lack of certainty as to what was just discussed, or other reasons.

The cost to the company of minimal participation is considerable.  There is a Cost of Meeting Clock, which determines the cost based on the number of attendees, average hourly pay rate, and length of the meeting. This determines the entire financial cost of the meeting. However, think about the amount of work that is not getting done because of the meeting, and the boredom factor of attendees who want to be anywhere but in that meeting. In addition, helpful information is not being shared among the attendees.

According to a new Gallup study, 50% of employees leave because of their supervisor. Often this has to do with poor leadership communication skills. Employee turnover is extremely expensive to a company, involving recruiting and training costs, as well.

What can a leader do to be more effective in eliciting participation at meetings? The solution depends on the problem's cause, of course.  To start, look at the reason for the meeting, and determine if the meeting needs to actually be held, or if an e-mail would be sufficient. Which participants really need to attend? Do they know in advance what to bring or prepare to talk about?

Does the leader know how to control participation by encouraging quiet people to talk, and talkative people to give others a chance to contribute? 

Techniques to resolve these issues  with meetings can be found on pages 10 - 11 of  the e-book, Executive Communication Strategies. On other pages, you'll  learn about Customer Services/Persuasion, Decision Making Paradigm, Questions Leaders Should Consider, Professional Listening Skills, Public Speaking Techniques for Leaders, and more! Get Executive Communication Strategies now and find out the practical, easy-to-use strategies to improve your communication skills!

Make your meetings more effective!

When you lead a meeting, there are several ways to judge its value. Are new ideas generated and discussed? Is important information shared with everyone in attendance? Are people networking?

However, does everyone who attends need to be present? (Are there "chair-warmers" there, whose bodies are in the chair but whose minds are on vacation?)  Could the meeting information  be shared in some other format that might be less costly? The cost includes the other work that is not being done so attendees can be at the meeting. It also can be calculated by multiplying the average hourly pay times the number of attendees times the length of the meeting. There are indeed apps for iPhone (http://rockapproll.com/app/Meeting-Cost-Clock)  and for Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id...meetingcostcalculator...) that can calculate this for you. Of course, transportation, catering and meeting room costs are also additional expenses to holding a meeting. You may be shocked when you find out how expensive meetings are!

To make a meeting more effective, beyond having an agenda and minutes, figure out strategies to reduce multi-tasking by attendees who are using their tablets and other devices to work on other assignments. They may be paying minimal attention to the speaker or meeting leader. Instead, ask that only attendees come who can give full attention to the matter being discussed; there should be a mechanism for those who are meeting immediate deadlines to miss a certain number of sessions per year, with a requirement that they read the minutes of what transpired.

It helps to state the length of time the meeting will last, and to start and stop on time. This builds trust in the leader or facilitator.

Get people up and moving, or discussing ideas, every 20 - 30 minutes. If there will be a change in procedures or a merger, have people come up with implications for all parties involved or develop a time-line so they can accept change more easily. Offer refreshments on a table to the side of the room, so people have to walk at least a little bit.

One technique for getting people more involved in a meeting is to give each person some index cards. Present a topic for discussion, such as a proposed merger or new category of customer. Each person writes one implication, question or related idea per index card, and shares them with a coworker sitting next to him. That person attempts to answer the questions or comment on the ideas. The two then discuss both peoples' cards. This can take 10 minutes and is an efficient way to get people involved. Later, any new ideas can be shared with the entire group, or with the leader if more appropriate.

Get more ideas on meetings and 17 other crucial communication skills for leaders in Executive Communication Techniques (http://www.businessspeechimprovement.com/exec-techniques) an e-book that you'll wish your supervisor had read! Individual coaching is also available by Business Speech Improvement.