Our Love/Hate Relationship with Association Staff Meetings
Thursday, November 3, 2011 by Deirdre Reid
Do you have days like this association professional?
When a meeting request arrives in your inbox, do you let out a little groan? It’s challenging to get any work done when your day is full of meetings planned by others.
Useful, productive and relevant meetings are okay, but some meetings are a colossal waste of time. No one’s time should be taken for granted — time is a scarce commodity in the association world – so organizing a meeting shouldn’t be taken for granted either, but too often it is.
You know when a meeting’s been thoughtfully organized by someone who respects your time.
Bad meetings aren’t the product of bad people. Good people plan bad meetings too. We don’t know any better. We’ve never given them much thought. We do it the way we’ve seen others do it – the way it’s always been done.
It’s tempting to write off meetings entirely, but they do serve positive purposes.
Meetings strengthen relationships. Meetings provide an opportunity to get to know and work with colleagues whom you normally don’t see. However, that’s not the purpose of meetings, only a bonus.
Meetings foster communication and collaboration. Communication and collaboration help to break down the silos we always complain about. Meetings provide an opportunity to get feedback and ideas from others, brainstorm, discuss issues and problems, and find common ground and collaborative approaches.
Meetings propel work forward. Meetings give us the opportunity to discuss options, make decisions, formulate plans and identify action steps that move us toward our goals. Good meetings are motivating.
How can we turn useless meetings into good productive ones? If you plan effective meetings, will others follow your example? It’s worth a try. Here are some ideas to consider:
Be clear about the type and purpose of your meeting. Is it a brainstorming, problem-solving (tactical or strategic), discussion, informational, planning or decision-making meeting? What’s the goal? What needs to happen in the meeting to move work forward?
Invite only the appropriate people. Send a post-meeting update to any others who need (or would like) to stay informed.
Schedule wisely. Never hold meetings on Monday mornings. Tuesday mornings are more productive: people are in the groove, so better conversation and questions will result. Late Friday afternoons are not a good time either, but you already know that.
Send an agenda in advance. Identify the purpose of the meeting as well as discussion issues, questions and decisions needed. Send participants the resources needed to be prepared for discussion and decision-making. Allow plenty of time for participants to review the agenda and resources.
Prepare yourself. Be ready for any questions or issues that may arise. Think past the meeting to next steps. What do you need to be ready for those?
Start on time. Be respectful of those who make the effort to arrive on time. Never wait for those who are late.
Know your audience, don’t waste their time. I still cringe at the memory of a colleague who started meetings with a feel-good activity or inspirational reading. Ugh, I’ll never get that time back.
Set expectations for next steps. During the meeting, decide on next steps, a timeline for action and who will be responsible for each task. After the meeting, send out a brief summary of decisions made, next steps, timeline and responsible staff. Hold people accountable by following up in advance of deadlines.
Attendees, get better at saying “no” to irrelevant meetings. If saying “no” outright is going to cause a problem, ask the meeting organizer about the goals for the meeting and the reasons and expectations for your participation. Perhaps your questions will make her realize there’s another way to reach those goals, or they might prompt her to plan a more purposeful and productive meeting.
When all else fails and you find yourself heading into another useless meeting, arrange your exit plan ahead of time with a timely “crisis” text.
Deirdre Reid, CAE is a freelance writer who holds her meetings in coffee shops or cafes with good craft beer.
Useful, productive and relevant meetings are okay, but some meetings are a colossal waste of time. No one’s time should be taken for granted — time is a scarce commodity in the association world – so organizing a meeting shouldn’t be taken for granted either, but too often it is.
You know when a meeting’s been thoughtfully organized by someone who respects your time.
- The meeting is purposeful and focused.
- An agenda was distributed in advance.
- The meeting starts and ends on time.
- The appropriate people, and only those people, are participating.
- Expectations for follow-up action are made clear.
Bad meetings aren’t the product of bad people. Good people plan bad meetings too. We don’t know any better. We’ve never given them much thought. We do it the way we’ve seen others do it – the way it’s always been done.
It’s tempting to write off meetings entirely, but they do serve positive purposes.
Meetings strengthen relationships. Meetings provide an opportunity to get to know and work with colleagues whom you normally don’t see. However, that’s not the purpose of meetings, only a bonus.
Meetings foster communication and collaboration. Communication and collaboration help to break down the silos we always complain about. Meetings provide an opportunity to get feedback and ideas from others, brainstorm, discuss issues and problems, and find common ground and collaborative approaches.
Meetings propel work forward. Meetings give us the opportunity to discuss options, make decisions, formulate plans and identify action steps that move us toward our goals. Good meetings are motivating.
Be clear about the type and purpose of your meeting. Is it a brainstorming, problem-solving (tactical or strategic), discussion, informational, planning or decision-making meeting? What’s the goal? What needs to happen in the meeting to move work forward?
Invite only the appropriate people. Send a post-meeting update to any others who need (or would like) to stay informed.
Schedule wisely. Never hold meetings on Monday mornings. Tuesday mornings are more productive: people are in the groove, so better conversation and questions will result. Late Friday afternoons are not a good time either, but you already know that.
Send an agenda in advance. Identify the purpose of the meeting as well as discussion issues, questions and decisions needed. Send participants the resources needed to be prepared for discussion and decision-making. Allow plenty of time for participants to review the agenda and resources.
Prepare yourself. Be ready for any questions or issues that may arise. Think past the meeting to next steps. What do you need to be ready for those?
Start on time. Be respectful of those who make the effort to arrive on time. Never wait for those who are late.
Know your audience, don’t waste their time. I still cringe at the memory of a colleague who started meetings with a feel-good activity or inspirational reading. Ugh, I’ll never get that time back.
Set expectations for next steps. During the meeting, decide on next steps, a timeline for action and who will be responsible for each task. After the meeting, send out a brief summary of decisions made, next steps, timeline and responsible staff. Hold people accountable by following up in advance of deadlines.
Attendees, get better at saying “no” to irrelevant meetings. If saying “no” outright is going to cause a problem, ask the meeting organizer about the goals for the meeting and the reasons and expectations for your participation. Perhaps your questions will make her realize there’s another way to reach those goals, or they might prompt her to plan a more purposeful and productive meeting.
When all else fails and you find yourself heading into another useless meeting, arrange your exit plan ahead of time with a timely “crisis” text.
Deirdre Reid, CAE is a freelance writer who holds her meetings in coffee shops or cafes with good craft beer.
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Deirdre Reid
Deirdre is a freelance writer, blogger and copywriter. The association community remains her professional home after spending ten years at national and state associations overseeing membership, vendor programs, marketing, publications, chapter relations and more. Away from her laptop, you can find her hiking, doing yoga, cooking new recipes, volunteering at the history museum, or relaxing in a comfy chair with a good book and glass of wine or craft beer.
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