“Meetings, Bloody Meetings!”
Managers: Get Help! Save Your Time! Save Their Time!

I’ve been surveying a lot of managers lately and asking if they understand that part of their job as managers is monitoring (one of the basic 4 functions of all management)? “Sure,” they say. Then I ask, how well the meetings they run and attend are? How well are they perceived? At this point there are multiple expressions of panic, doubt and anxiety. Here’s a way out if you spend a lot of time in meetings.

Why are we so afraid of feedback? Is our fear of criticism of ourselves limiting our ability to effectively manage? Of course managers know feedback is part of their job. “Sure, I sit down with my people once a year” a manager says. Not only is that too infrequent, but too often, it is one-way. What else could the manager do differently to effectively manage his/her time and the time of all our employees, especially when meetings are a large portion of workplace time? The manager could ask for regular feedback on how well the meetings are run. Unfortunately though, feedback to the manager’s performance, which can be structured as a useful tool, is seldom even considered.

Here’s a simple, non-threatening way to structure feedback on this key organizational practice:

Here are 6 powerful questions to place on a handout sheet and leave on the table (anonymous, of course): Use scales, e.g. 1-5, or 1-10 for each question.

Goal of meeting: How well did we achieve what we needed to do?

Use of time: How well did we use out time?

Participation: How well did we make sure everyone was equally involved?

Decision making? How well thought out were our decisions?

Action Plans: How clear and do-able are our actions plans?

Organization: How well run was the meeting?

Once you have the feedback, commit to taking action for improvement. No matter how good you think you are, you are using an expensive personal and organizational resource when in meetings, and we can all get better.

How much of your organizational time is in meetings?

For help on running productive meetings

For help in meeting facilitation or training, Call: 1-800-852-9703

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“Meetings, Bloody Meetings!” Managers: Get Help! Save Your Time! Save Their Time!

“Meetings, Bloody Meetings!”
Managers: Get Help! Save Your Time! Save Their Time!