Performance management consultant Ed Eppley, host of the Ed Eppley Experience podcast, interviewed business experts for this three-part series on optimizing meetings. The advice and insights he and his guests offer are valuable for all leaders who want to run efficient, purposeful meetings. A good meeting structure, Eppley teaches, improves team collaboration and productivity and provides a competitive edge, since many organizations overlook this area of optimization.
Effective meetings give team members opportunities to collaborate.
Interpersonal dynamics that evoke a professor lecturing in a classroom are a sure sign of an ineffective meeting. Productive meetings allow you to function in your role as a leader, but they also provide a space for your team members to collaborate without you having to dominate the discussion or mediate one-on-one interactions.
Productive meetings make a leader’s job easier, because they allow all team members, no matter their function in the organization, to contribute to a discussion. Leaders can moderate and then step in only when necessary. Such an environment teaches all participants to think like leaders and prevents people from getting stuck in a narrow-minded view of their particular role.
Say “no” to meetings more often and be fully present if you decide to attend.
Try to shorten your meetings or cancel them if they don’t contribute sufficient value. Refuse to attend meetings if you don’t see their purpose and allow others to do the same.
Another mistake to avoid is deciding to attend a meeting and then...
Ed Eppley, host of The Ed Eppley Experience podcast, is head of The Eppley Group. James Felton is a consultant at the Table Group. Dan Wiley is VP of special projects at the Katie Farming Group. Sam Wiley is head of Skysale Foods, a food and supplement industry consultancy. Pam Priddy is Chief Strategy Officer at Necco Foster Care.
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