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Today’s Overview:
Meetings are a puzzling paradox. On one hand they are critical to success – the lifeblood of every project. On the other hand, they are painful, frustratingly long and seeming pointless. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Starting with the attitudes and approaches of the people who lead and take part in meetings, we can turn the boring into exciting, the unfocused into alignment, and pain into enjoyment.
A great team meeting takes four things: (1) a clear purpose, (2) structured context, (3) thorough preparation, and (4) actionable outcomes. This step-by-step guide will give you a clear framework for thinking about how to make your meetings meaningful and effective.
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The Ultimate Guide to Effective Meetings
Why meet? Why do meetings matter?
We all spend about 30% of our work time in meetings. Meetings are important because they enable employees to come together and get collaborative work done.
Think about it: big decisions, like launching into new markets or even going to war, are made in meetings.
Yet the paradox of meetings is that we generally don’t like them. In fact, some of us despise them. On one hand they are critical to success – the lifeblood of every project. On the other hand, they are painful, frustratingly long and seeming pointless.
This begs the question: Why do most of us dislike meetings, even though they're crucial for business?
The reason business meetings have received a poor reputation isn’t hard to figure out. Bad meetings are painful. They’re boring. Too many lack focus, and often end without meaningful resolution.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. By adjusting our approach and attitude, we can transform these meetings from dull to dynamic and aimless to effective.
For effective meetings, participants should:
Understand their role and purpose in the meeting.
Prepare to make useful contributions.
Realize that more meetings don’t mean more value. The quality matters more than quantity.
This step-by-step guide will teach you how to create engaging, purposeful meetings. It will reshape how you think about them, ensuring better participation and outcomes.
The Problem with Meetings
There are two major problems with most meetings. And I’m guessing neither will come as a surprise to you.
1. Meetings are BORING.
How many meetings have left you feeling energized this week? Let’s face it. Too many meetings are just plain boring. They’re tedious and uninspired.
The leader is too focused on agendas and ending on time to notice a lack of engagement.
2. Meetings are INEFFECTIVE.
Meetings should have clear outcomes. If participants leave without understanding the next steps or the way forward, it's a wasted effort.
Meetings are only valuable when they move the work forward. If people don’t feel closer to a stated goal as they leave a meeting, if they don’t see a clear next step as well as a way ahead, the meeting was a complete waste of time.
Should I Hold a Meeting?
Before scheduling a meeting, always ask: "Is this meeting needed?"
See below:
Sometimes, other methods can achieve the same results more efficiently.
Many instances when you would consider a meeting can be managed through other means.
Purpose
If you've decided a meeting is needed, ensure it has a clearly defined purpose and includes the right people. These are the foundations of a successful meeting. There are other factors too, but these are paramount.
Before scheduling a meeting, ask yourself:
“Why are we here and what are we going to achieve?”
This will help you determine whether a meeting is necessary and what outcomes you want to achieve.
If those questions aren’t answered, then nine times out of ten, the meeting is either a complete waste of time; or achieves less than great results.
If you don’t know where you’re going, it’s going to be a long painful trip.
Structured Context
Successful meetings are rooted in clear structure and context. Adopting a one-size-fits-all format will lead to inefficiency and dissatisfaction among team members.
Each meeting should be tailored to a specific business need to ensure alignment in expectations and outcomes.
Here are three foundational types of meetings, each designed to cater to distinct aspects of your operations:
The Daily Huddle
The Weekly Tactical
The Monthly Strategic
1. The Daily Huddle
Duration: Approximately 10 minutes
Purpose: The Daily Huddle is a quick morning check-in to align the team on the day's activities. This ensures alignment and reduces redundant communications throughout the day. The morning huddle is a key component of the Last Planner System for a reason. As far as I’m concerned it’s most important 10 minutes of the day.
Structure: First thing in the morning, have your trade leaders get in the habit of routinely answering the following 6 questions at the daily huddle:
What are you working on?
Where are you working?
How many crews/workers are on-site?
What are your constraints/needs?
What material deliveries are coming up?
Are there any safety concerns?
*Bonus: Conclude with a brief stretch to get the bodies moving.
Outcome: These 6 questions allow everyone to coordinate and collaborate effectively. This achieves buy-in, accountability, and a much more reliable workflow.
2. The Weekly Tactical
Duration: Approximately one hour.
Purpose: To address immediate tactical concerns. In construction project management, you may need to hold various Weekly Tactical meetings for different teams.
Types:
Weekly Staff Meeting
Weekly Owner Meeting
Weekly Design Team Meeting
Weekly Subcontractor/Vendor Meeting (Weekly Work Plan)
Structure:
Everyone always attends. It is facilitated with a sense of discipline and structural consistency.
Lightning Round: A rapid update from each member, sharing their top 2-3 priorities for the week. Limit to 60 seconds per person.
Progress Review: A 5-minute overview of vital metrics and business information. Save in-depth discussions for the appropriate forum. Shout out to amazing tools like PROJEXION for making data actionable and your KPI’s immediately available. They make tactical type meetings highly effective.
Real-Time Agenda: Establish the meeting's agenda based on the lightning round and progress review insights, rather than setting it in advance.
Outcome: The Weekly Tactical aims to resolve immediate challenges and reinforce clarity. Keep discussions tactical; strategic issues are reserved for the Monthly Strategic.
3. The Monthly Strategic
Duration: Minimum of two hours, covering no more than two primary topics.
Purpose: A deep-dive into significant project/business challenges and opportunities. This is the arena for strategic decision-making.
Structure:
Prior preparation is essential, with a predetermined agenda.
Facilitate constructive debates, ensuring diverse viewpoints are heard.
The leader should actively encourage discussions, ensuring all angles are explored.
Outcome: The Monthly Strategic aims to make crucial decisions that shape the company's direction. Hold these at least once a month, with the flexibility for additional sessions as required.
By adopting these structured meeting formats, you can create a more aligned, efficient, and successful project communication flow. Remember, the key lies in clarity of purpose and disciplined execution.
Pre-Meeting Instructions
Pre-Meeting Instructions (PMI) are instructions sent out prior to a meeting that are specific enough for people to understand what they’re expected to bring and how to prepare.
This starts with the purpose and then what the people must do to prepare. It will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and can contribute to the meeting effectively.
The Agenda
This is a big part of keeping people focused. The person running the meeting should set the agenda.
Create a clear and detailed agenda that outlines the topics to be discussed and the order in which they will be addressed. Good agendas keep things moving in the right direction while minimizing tangents.
While structure is crucial, maintain flexibility to address unanticipated concerns.
Outcomes
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” - Lewis Carroll
As part of the pre-meeting process, think about what the end of the meeting will look like.
Define clear outcomes for the meeting and communicate them to all attendees. This will help everyone stay focused and ensure that the meeting is productive.
One of the most important things for a meeting to accomplish is to achieve clarity and alignment.
Clarity is that common understanding of what is to be done and by whom.
Alignment complements that be ensuring that people are working together towards a common goal without duplication and with no gaps in the efforts.
When the meeting concludes, people need to understand 3 things:
Who is Responsible: who does what by when.
The Next Steps: what happens immediately after.
The Way Ahead: actions necessary to reach the desired outcome and keep the momentum from the meeting to cross the finish line.
The Right People
You can’t bake a cake if you don’t have all the ingredients. Same goes for meetings.
We can’t lead an effective meeting if we don’t have all the right people.
Ensure that all the right people are present, including:
Decision Makers: These people have the authority to decide and ensure the compliance of their people.
Subject Matter Experts: They’re technical experts who can provide valuable data for the rest of the group.
Implementers: The people who have to make it happen; not all of them of course, but their leadership.
Enablers: The people who provide the support/logistics to the implementers, again the leadership component.
Avoid inviting irrelevant personnel; their presence can dilute focus.
Conducting the Meeting
Here are some best practices to consider for conducting healthy, useful meetings:
Punctuality: Start the meeting on time and end it when it’s supposed to end.
Setting: Choose a location that is appropriate for the meeting. Consider factors such as size, acoustics, lighting, location, furniture, technology, collaborative tools, closable door, and windows.
Engagement: Encourage participation from all attendees and facilitate a productive discussion.
Alignment: Do your best to make sure everyone is trying to answer the same and the correct question. Everyone talking about the same wrong question isn’t helpful.
Review and Assign: As you go through the agenda and conclude each action point, establish who does what by when. Be specific as possible.
Summarize: The last item of the agenda should be a summation of key points, actions, and takeaways. Make sure everyone leaves with a common understanding. This enables more efficient work for everyone.
Interactions
Avoiding conflict in meetings is a mistake. Instead, welcome productive disagreements.
An intelligent group of diverse people won't always agree, especially on important matters.
Suppressing debate leads to buried frustrations, which can turn into personal conflicts or office politics. It also hampers the team's active participation and quest for better solutions.
Leaders should address disagreements head-on, even if it's uncomfortable.
Focus on debating ideas, not attacking individuals. Healthy conflict is about differing viewpoints, not personal differences. Leaders can set the tone at the start by encouraging open debate on contentious topics.
Your behavior sets an example. By addressing ideas with respect, you demonstrate the right way to disagree.
Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes are a written summary of the meeting. They aren’t transcripts and there is no specific format.
Share the minutes with all participants within a day to ensure alignment.
Final Takeaways
Project decisions and activities pivot around meetings. We need to remember that meetings are human. They require a personal touch. Rigid rules and agendas will never solve our meeting dilemma.
The most productive meetings:
Have one clear purpose
Provide context and structure
Begin with pre-meeting guidelines
Stick to a defined agenda
Include only essential participants
Assign one owner to each task
Encourage constructive disagreement
Everyone leaves energized
Result in clear, mutually-agreed outcomes.
If we aim to become better project managers, it is our duty as leaders to take the time to understand and master the tactics and skills required to improve the meeting culture.
The next time it’s your turn to host a meeting, ask a friend to give you feedback. Work on your ability to conduct a great meeting just like you would public speaking or your golf swing. Strive to make every meeting meaningful and better than the last.
Until next week,
Kyle Nitchen
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