While you can't control all the meetings others invite you to attend, you can ensure that your meetings are effective and productive meetings. No more wasting your teams' valuable time in meaningless meetings.
In the podcast episode, I'll talk you through 3 key to leading effective meetings.
Get even more detailed information regarding effective meetings in our video course entitled "Leading Effective Meetings." You'll find this free course inside the Credible Leadership Community at credibleleaders.com/community.
Show Notes: 3 Keys to Leading Effective Meetings
1) Outcome-based meetings
Determine your desired outcome of the meeting before you invite others. Share your desired outcome with those invited to your meeting in order to allow them the opportunity to prepare to deliver your desired outcome.
For example, if you need to have a meeting to make a decision regarding the marketing budget. By stating this desired outcome in the meeting invite, you allow your participants time to study the budget and the marketing needs of the business. With this preparation time, your participants with arrive at your meeting informed and ready to make a decision.
2) Limit the attendees
Limit your meeting participant list to only those team members needed to achieve the desired outcome. Including others will only confuse and complicate the meeting. Avoid the temptation to mix desired outcomes in a single meeting.
For instance, you may have several team members that need to be made aware of the marketing budget decision to be made in the previous example. Avoid the temptation to include those team members that only need to be made aware of the decision to the decision making meeting. Have a second meeting with the desired outcome of awareness for those team members that need to be informed of the decision.
3) Select meeting times strategically
Finally, consider the best time of day to have your meeting based on the desired outcome. Too many meetings are held at the first available time on the calendar for all the participants and too often that available time is 4pm on Friday.
Meetings with strategic desired outcomes like a decision made, plan created, or solution debated, should be held at the time of the day when all the participants are fresh, alert, and mentally engaged in the task at hand. Your meeting will be more effective if held early in the morning, three days from now than it will be to have it this afternoon just before everyone leaves for the day.
