How to Prepare for a Meeting
About the Authors:
NEIL FLANAGAN and JARVIS FINGER
Management Strategists at Plum Press
World-renowned business strategists and authors of several international best-selling books on management. Neil is a sought-after keynote, conference and motivational speaker and Jarvis is the award-winning founder and editor of Australia's best known magazine for school administrators.
It was Hendrik van Loon who once said that a meeting will only be successful if it has three participants—one of whom is away sick and another who is absent. Organisational life is never that generous to managers, however. Meetings have become an unavoidable aspect of a manager's role. Fortunately, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary meetings and to make the remaining ones more effective. An important ingredient is planning and preparation, as the following points reveal…
1. Make sure you've called the meeting for a reason.
Meetings should never become a ritual. They cost time and money so it's important to call a meeting only when one is warranted—to solve a problem, to coordinate activities, to disseminate and discuss urgent information, to reach a consensus or decision, to build morale, to reconcile conflicts. So don't ask people to attend a listening session only—send a memo or newsletter instead.
2. Prepare a benchmark of productivity.
Be clear on the purposes of the meeting and your hoped-for outcomes. And how will you know when you have achieved them? By preparing a 'benchmark of productivity' for the meeting—a checklist of what you want to accomplish, to refer to during the meeting and for use later to compare the hoped-for outcomes with the actual achievements.
Management Memo
Conducting a meeting without a plan is much like trying to build a house without blueprints. It can be done, of course, but the end result is likely to be less than desirable and the process can be expensive and nerve-wracking.
Jack Parker (The Collier Quick and Easy Guide for Running a Meeting)
3. Select the participants wisely
Only those who need to attend should be invited to do so. Each non-essential attendee is wasting his/her time and costing your organisation money. As well, the more people attending, the more difficult it is to achieve a consensus. Consider inviting participants to be present at a particular time, that is, for the agenda item for which their personal contribution is required.
4. Select the right time and place for the meeting
Call a meeting only when you have the information required for decision making and you can be assured that the appropriate people will be in attendance. Ensure the venue is accessible to all participants, yet sufficiently remote to avoid interruptions. Check out and book the location— seating, lighting, ventilation, whiteboards, electrical requirements and other essentials.
5. Prepare and distribute an agenda that will work
The more care you take with an agenda, the more productive the meeting will be. The agenda should be more than just a list of items handed out at the meeting. Key elements would include:
date, time, place and duration of meeting
list of items to be discussed in sequence, detailing for each item, who will lead the discussion, time allocated and, importantly, the objective (information sharing/discussion only/ decision required/ problem to be solved etc.).
6. Despatch agenda and background papers
By giving adequate advance notice and distributing the agenda and support documents for all items, you will demonstrate your thoroughness and instil confidence in your leadership. (Remember, people being what people are, to allow time at the beginning of your meeting for 'review' of documents you realise may not have been read in advance.)
7. Do your homework on the participants
If emotional or controversial issues, for example, are to be discussed during the meeting, it is sometimes a good idea to talk through these items with some of the key participants beforehand. Consider their reactions and how you might handle them during the meeting to achieve the desired outcomes.
8. Gather appropriate tools for the meeting
Make sure you have considered the following items frequently required during a meeting: notepaper, pens, flip chart, whiteboard, refreshments, projector, conference call facilities, and so on.
9. Be prepared—psychologically
Mental preparation is also a vital consideration and, in this regard, the following suggestions are offered:
Know the meeting process and your role as the chairperson. Understand the rules of the game before you play—whether these be formal rules of order involving motions, voting, adjournments etc., or unofficial rules developed by your own organisation for meeting procedures.
Do your homework. Be prepared and knowledgeable about the topics under discussion.
Believe you can lead. If you have been called upon to lead, someone believes you can do it. So be confident yourself that you can.
Seize the opportunity. Responsibility requires extra effort. Give it—and grow in the position.
Aim high. Strive for excellence, set the example, and others will follow.
Just about Everything a Manager Needs to Know
By Neil Flanagan and Jarvis Finger
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