I remember when I first entered the workplace and I had a weekly staff meeting; it was not the highlight of my week. We covered important information and it was a good time of connecting with the other staff members since we were distributed all over the city. As an action oriented 23 year old, I was not always the most engaged. Little did I know I would encounter other meeting experiences in various industries over my working career.
Recently I was with an organization performing team building and through the course of the activity one of the major issues that arose was the challenge of communication. In some organizations communication is informal and sporadic which can lead to problems, but for organizations that are more centralized meetings are used. As I thought about that concept a book I had heard about came to mind: Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable…About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business
Four Meeting Types
In this book he goes into detail about four different types of meeting. I want to take a minute to tell you about those types of meeting and for more detail you will have to borrow or buy the book.
- The shortest of all the meetings (5 -10 minutes) is the “daily check-in” – the purpose is to share what is going on that day: activities, schedules, etc.
- The meeting most of us are familiar with a more intentional plan is the “weekly tactical” (45 – 90 minutes) – this is where everyone quickly highlights the upcoming weeks activities and the group discusses any immediate non-strategic challenges that need to be addressed.
- The “monthly strategic” meeting is usually much more animated. This 2 – 4 hour meeting is where critical issues that will impact long-term success are discussed and analyzed.
- The “quarterly off-site review” (1 – 2 days) is where the big picture of the organization is analyzed such as organizational strategy, competition, personnel decisions, developing the team, etc.
Questions to Ask
This only gave you a broad overview of Lencioni’s book. You may lead a small business, a small team, a sports team or a multi-national organization. Whatever the organization, communication must occur and meetings are often the vehicle for that communication. Ask yourself some of the following questions if you seek to implement this method for your communication:
- What don’t I/we do?
- What do we need to do better?
- When and how will we start?
Make Sure This is Clear
One final thought for any meeting, which is probably common sense . . . make sure you have a clear agenda in mind. When setting that agenda clarify your objectives so that when the meeting is over you and those involved will know whether or not you accomplished the purpose.
As we improve our communication through more effective meetings we will be able to be more effective and efficient in accomplishing our organizational purpose. As I have heard said, don’t just work hard, but work smart. Keep communicating and meeting to move your vision forward. Good luck!
