Company meetings are notoriously drawn-out, unstructured and potentially costly. According to the Office of National Statistics, a staggering 37 percent of employee time is spent in meetings, with 47 percent of employees placing 'too many meetings' ahead of 'social media and emails' as the biggest waste of time during the working day.
It’s important to point out that company meetings are vital, but only in appropriate circumstances and when held in the right way. All too often, meetings are completely disorganised, with unstructured conversations led by those with the loudest voices. In many cases, those with the brightest ideas are left staring at laptops with nothing to say.
But all is not lost. I spoke to Business Psychologist Anni Townend, who suggested the following tips on how you can take to turn your company meeting from a dismal, drawn-out affair, into the most productive, efficient and dynamic part of your day. Anni suggests:
Managing physical space & psychological needs
Get clear on what kind of meeting it is – is it primarily about sharing information? Is it about making decisions, or perhaps one big urgent decision? Is about building relationships in the team, focusing on team dynamics? Is it a strategy meeting, thinking big and beyond?
From there, you can work out how the physical space and psychological needs of the attendees should be managed.
The team leader needs to create a safe space in which people can contribute their thoughts, feelings and ideas. Setting the clear purpose and the desired outcomes for the meeting helps people to feel safe – they know what the setup is.
It’s crucial to be aware of how physical space impacts the dynamic of the meeting, and ensure you’re in control of this too. If you are the team leader or chair, then make sure you are in the meeting room space first – be it a physical room or a virtual team space – so that you can welcome people in.
In a physical space I always endeavour to sit so that I am facing the door in order to welcome people into the room. I make a point of saying hello to everyone, and if I’m meeting someone for the first time, I make a point of shaking their hand. If I don’t know someone, I’ll find out their name and introduce myself.
Experiment with different ‘modes’ of meeting
I am a great believer in the stand up meeting, it signals that it will be a short meeting – say 15 to 30 minutes, and that it is going to be a focused exchange on something that needs to be addressed today, or the big rocks for this week.
I am also a big fan of the 'walk and talk' meeting, ideal for one to one meetings. There is much to be said for walking and talking, and for getting outside in the fresh air. A quick walk round the block is energising, and the being on the move can help the flow of a discussion.
In team meetings I will often suggest, as part of managing the energy, that people pair up ideally with someone they know less well and have a 'walk and talk' for 15 minutes (or longer) and come back with their thinking on a subject.
I know of at least one organisation where they have 50 minute meetings to allow people to get from A to B. Acknowledge that attendees have duties outside the meeting, and allow for them; they’ll be more attentive to your needs when you are to theirs.
Meeting free days are great too! Make sure you’re clear to your team as to why you’re suggesting it, and what the time can be used for.
As with all these different tips, the key to their success is having a go, seeing what it is like, when it works for your team, and when it doesn’t.
Leave the hierarchy at the door
Equal contribution matters.
Have a check in at the beginning of the meeting, you can do this by going round the table and have people say something to introduce themselves. This helps create a safe environment.
At the end of the meeting have a check out. Go round the group and have people share something about what they enjoyed, learnt, or are going to action as a result of the meeting.
I often remind people at the start of the meeting about speaking from the 'I', so 'I think', 'I feel' 'I am wondering…' rather than talking about 'we', or worse, 'one'. By encouraging use of the 'I’, it encourages people to take responsibility for their thinking and their contribution: to own it. In addition it makes it easier to listen – if someone is talking about their particular experience and owning it I can hear it, whereas if someone uses the 'we' and my experience is very different, I can feel uncomfortable that I am being drawn in/used to make a point.
I ask people to address each other as 'you', rather than speaking about someone in the third person, as if they were not in the meeting. By doing this I am encouraging direct communication between people, which has a way more powerful impact.
Most importantly ask people to listen generously and spaciously; to listen for understanding rather than to give opinions. Too often people are over zealous in giving their opinion, rather than listening and asking questions to find out more, and deepen their understanding.
The team leader's job is to keep the ideas coming, to seek ideas from those people who haven't shared theirs, and to create the space for those ideas.
Pay attention to the size of relationships in the team, the group, and the meeting. People will be more creative and explore more possibilities in bigger, stronger relationships. Help people to build big enough relationships with each other in which they can share ideas, ask questions and challenge, as well as support.
Try a digital detox
It might seem to go against instincts, but interruption is a key part of successful meetings. Interrupting forces people to stop and think. Introducing a digital detox to a team meeting is a great way of interrupting people if they typically are checking their phones, or are on their laptops/ipads during meetings.
It helps people be more present, and will stimulate a more focused discussion (providing the team leaders signals this intention).
Not relying on digital resources will become easier with time, and there are many ways in which turning smartphones off could help boost brainpower. Ask people for the purpose of the meeting to switch off their phones, and put away their laptops.
Limit the number of powerpoint slides. There is a time and place for powerpoint, however, over reliance on it gets in the way of creating thinking and focused discussion. One of the major drawbacks is that people are not looking at the slides, not each other.
If you need to use powerpoint, then no more than five slides is a good rule!
Ultimately, to stimulate creative thinking, the team leader needs to create an environment in which people can think, and are encouraged to share their ideas, to challenge each other's thinking and to build on each other's thoughts.