inefficiently. Improving the effectiveness of meetings begins with recognizing their
redundancy. In recent years, increasing amounts of work are performed by teams
rather than individuals, resulting in a significant increase in the number of meetings
required. Yet in many cases, meetings are unnecessary. According to Malik,
smoothly working teams are characterized by a reduced need to meet.
Many upper-level managers call for meetings like a reflex every time a new
situation arises, a decision has to be made, or simply as part of the work routine.
This “meeting mania” is an ingenious means of wasting time. The actual work tends
to be accomplished before or after, but rarely during meetings. Typically, the time
needed to prepare for quality meetings is also underestimated, which results in
unstructured meetings with little information exchange and insufficient information
to make the right decisions.
The most important component of a quality meeting is the agenda. No meeting
should be held without an agenda. Furthermore, the agenda should be coordinated
with the key participants, though the manager should make the final decision as to
what content is addressed. A good agenda includes a limited number of important
topics.
Managers must moderate the meeting in order to keep discussions on track.
Additionally, they must do so in a way that all positions are presented in order to
transfer information and guarantee that alternatives are available at the point when
decisions are made. Furthermore, they have the responsibility of ensuring the
systematic examination of material presented by attendees. Meetings have only
one purpose – producing results. Malik warns that meetings are not for the purpose
of socializing, even though employees’ relationships have a large influence on the
quality of meetings. Some organizations minimize time spent in meetings by
having the participants stand rather than sit, an idea I support.
The only meeting that does not require an agenda is the annual employee inter-
view. In this kind of meeting, it is important that no topics are given, and that the
leader provides only broadly formulated questions to be openly discussed. Otherwise,
they should primarily closely listen to the employees’ feelings and attitudes, while
encouraging them to participate. This type of meeting serves to foster the develop-
ment of working relationships within the organization. Good managers value this
type of meeting and put it on their agenda. Personally it never would have occurred to
me to consider a discussion with a coworker as a form of meeting, though I do agree
with Malik concerning the open nature of discussions. Although no agenda is
required, preparation for the meeting is still essential. This will be covered more
thoroughly in Chap. 4.
Second Tool: The Report
According to Fredmund Malik, the written word is an effective tool, a fact that
telecommunications and electronic means of communication will not change. “All
forms of working made possible by modern modes of communication rise and fall
with the rules and discipline for professional reports” (Malik 2001, p. 302).
Writing forces us to think more thoroughly, to outline and summarize. Whether
reports, minutes, memoranda, business letters or offers, all must be oriented on the
2.1 The Craft of Leadership 41