This graphic from the Remote Leadership Institute is not based on a
clear research source, yet it strikes a chord with many people. One of the
main sources of poor job satisfaction is attending too many ineffective
meetings. People remember the bad ones.The MIT Sloan Management Review^9 summarised attitudes to meetings
from a wide variety of sources and found, in terms of productivity
17% called them very good to excellent.
42% rated them good.
25% rated them neither good nor bad.
15% rated them poor or worse.While that outlook is much better, there is still much room for
improvement. The key advice is^10 :- Have a compelling agenda - with timings - send it out in advance
- Only invite people who need to be there and tell them why
- Send out (or gather) background information in advance – and
use it for moving the meeting forward, not just as a review - Set up ground rules
- Ensure everyone who was asked is meaningfully included in the
conversation (limiting the time of people who talk too much) - Be non-judgmental and keep the conversation constructive
- Agree on clear actions – who undertakes to do what, and by when
(^9) The Science and Fiction of Meetings 2007
(^10) Harvard Business Review: Stop the Meeting Madness