Real Communication An Introduction

292 Part 3  Group and Organizational Communication

changed meetings—and how it hasn’t. Most important, we’ll show that effective

leadership is crucial to conducting effective and productive meetings.

Planning Meetings Effectively

Let’s consider all the reasons why Julia found the meeting we’ve just described

so frustrating. First, it was a bad time: she was struggling to meet deadlines and

really didn’t want to stop working to sit in on a meeting. Worse, she probably

didn’t really have to be there either—the client was using the meeting to inform

the sales team about the site as a whole, not to discuss Julia’s design. Further

complicating the issues were the meeting’s late start, Julia’s unfamiliarity with the

sales force, and a medium—speakerphone—that limited Julia’s communication

with the team. Put simply, the meeting was poorly planned.

Proper planning is crucial for successful meetings. Making a few decisions

beforehand and taking steps to clarify goals and logistics for the team can lead to

more effective decision making during the meeting itself. There are several steps

that group leaders can take to plan meetings more effectively.

Justify the Meeting

Before calling a meeting, a group leader should consider what he or she wants to

accomplish and assess whether a meeting is even necessary to meet that goal. If

there are no clear goals for a meeting, it’s impossible for any goals to be met as

a result of it. The leader also needs to ensure that only those whose presence is

necessary in order to meet the goals or who would truly benefit from attending

are included.

In many cases, meetings can be avoided altogether or made smaller and

more efficient by asking team members to contribute information ahead of

time or simply picking up the phone to ask someone a question when one arises

(Conlin, 2006).

Clarify the Purpose and the Participants

If a meeting is necessary, it is the responsibility of the leader to clearly articulate

the goals of the meeting and the roles of everyone who is to attend. Think back

to Julia’s situation. Her client, Jacob, wants to get his sales force interested and

excited about the launch of the Web site. Getting the sales force together to view

the beta version and get feedback on it might seem like a good way to brainstorm

ideas for marketing. But Jacob failed to clarify what he wanted to accomplish at

the meeting and what Julia’s role would be. He might have made a more efficient

use of Julia’s time by discussing elements of the design with her prior to the

meeting or asking her to outline a few key features for him to use in the meeting

without her actually attending.

Set an Agenda

President Dwight D. Eisenhower noted, “I have often found that plans are use-

less, but planning is indispensable.” Creating a plan is a valuable phase in deci-

sion making, even if the plan itself isn’t followed to the letter in the end. Setting

an agenda is crucial.

How do you feel about

group meetings? Do you find

them energizing, boring, or

a waste of time? Consider

an effective meeting and

an ineffective meeting that

you’ve attended. To what

degree did the leaders plan

appropriately, justify each

meeting, and clarify the

purpose?

AND YOU?