Not long ago someone recommended reading the book Make Virtual Meetings Matter by Paul Axtell. This short book has a lot of very practical tips about leading meetings. He provides many tips on leading engaging and productive meetings. One section highlights a framework for effective communication which can help us in every aspect of leadership.
Clarity
Have you ever sat in a meeting where the leader rambles on and you are not sure where they are going? Have you been that leader? I find this happens when I do not know what I want to accomplish before we start. As the leader of the meeting my job is to come prepared with clear objectives I want to cover. 
When we fail to prepare we are unclear and likely to not honor the time of those present. Clarity not only helps you lead better, but gives participants purpose and more internal motivation to engage in the meeting. As the meeting leader continually check to see if everyone has clarity on what you are trying to accomplish.
Candor
Some meetings are great at this while others are not. If we lead with candor, then we will set a tone where others feel comfortable to speak openly. We’ve all been in the meeting where there is a silence beyond the “thinking silence” and finally someone says: “can you repeat the question?” This is a gentle form of being candid.
Candor creates an environment where healthy debate occurs and people discuss differing ideas freely without fear of repercussion. When leaders create an environment that balances candor and care problems are solved quicker. Axtell defines candor this way:
“Being authentic – saying what you mean and meaning what you say.”
Commitment
Once everyone has clarity and freedom to be candid, an environment conducive to commitment exists. A meeting without action steps is often not a productive meeting. To continue moving toward accomplishing the vision people must commit to action.
I have been in meetings that dump information, but no actionable steps are set. I have also been in meetings where an action step was mentioned, but no one was assigned responsibility nor was a deadline provided. As the leader your job is to bring individuals to a point of committing to actionable items to move the initiative forward. We all have a procrastination monster lurking and deadlines help tame that monster. This leads to the last piece of the communication puzzle.
Completion
Whether in a meeting or following up on an action step, the communication loop will not close without completion. I was leading a meeting recently and I proposed an idea. The group discussed the idea and my job was to make sure all people had shared and then come to a conclusion. Once I was confident everyone shared what they needed I summarized possible action steps which were different than I originally anticipated. No action for now was the best step because we needed clarity on another topic before moving forward.
This conversation was not complete until a decision for action, continued thought, or further discussion later was made. At that point we knew we could move on.
Now that I’ve covered these four phases of communication, where do you get stuck? How can you improve in that area when you communicate one on one or lead a meeting? Do you or your team need help in meeting facilitation skills? Contact me to discuss our Maxwell Leadership Leading Productive Meetings workshop. In the meantime lead well!
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