8 Ways to Have Successful Meetings
When it comes to being the CEO of your organization, meetings quickly begin to dominate your work schedule. Whether it is a meeting with a high-level client, meeting with your executive team, or a meeting with department managers, you may have more meetings than anything else. Making sure your meetings are as productive as possible is key to ensure they are not just time- and energy-drainers.
Here are the top 8 strategies to have a successful meeting, according to leading CEO development program coaches and CEO peer group consultants.
- Double check that the meeting is actually needed. It is important to ask yourself, “can this meeting be avoided?” In other words, can you send an email, have a quick phone call, or otherwise wait before calling a meeting. If you cannot identify the urgency or objective of the meeting, then chances are good you may be able to postpone having it or address the needs in another way.
- Figure out an agenda. You want your meetings to be under 30 minutes if possible and to do so, having a clear idea of what you need to talk about will help your meeting stay on track. Start with your overarching objective and be intentional in setting the agenda, such that each topic is aligned with the objective.
- Choose meeting attendees wisely. CEO coaches recommend strategically selecting who will attend the meeting. The point is you want all attendees to be able to contribute value to the discussion, so you can avoid having to have numerous follow-up meetings. With your objective in mind, create a list of who absolutely needs to be in the room to help you achieve that objective.
- Make sure you have a decision maker. Your meetings should spur action and if you do not involve the decision maker in the meeting, you inevitably set up the need to have another meeting to get the go-ahead from the decision maker. Include them in the meeting so when it is done, everyone has a clear (and already approved) action plan in place.
- Start on time – no matter what. When you delay the meeting for people to come in late, you subconsciously take the importance away from your meeting. Sure things may come up at the last minute, but you need to be firm (and respectful) of the meeting time and stay within the scheduled time frame.
- Make your meeting times short. Studies have shown that the longer the scheduled meeting, the less that actually gets done. Longer meetings invite idle chatter and time for off-topic discussions. Keep your meetings to 30 minutes or less, so everyone can stay on track and focused only on the topics as outlined in the agenda.
- Ditch the sit-down meetings. This strategy may be a bit unorthodox, but stand-up meetings are becoming popular. Similar to the science behind using standing desks, when you stand, you have more oxygen flowing to your brain. Not to mention, no one would want to stand on their feet for an hour, so it is also a way to keep your meetings brief and to the point.
- Always have a notetaker. You want everyone to leave each meeting with clear and actionable outcomes. To ensure that everyone is on the same page, it is best practice to have a notetaker and to send out the meeting notes with a recap email immediately after the meeting. This way everyone has the same information and what they need to take the next steps.
As the CEO, your time and your teams’ time is valuable. Implementing these 8 successful meeting strategies can make your meetings more productive and designed to generate results. If you’d like to explore other ways to boost your productivity, be sure to follow our blog for new weekly articles.
