Let’s Chat About Leadership…
This blog series appears on Tuesdays, and focuses on resources that I use as I pace my ability to continually strive for my greatest effectiveness. Leaders get things done. In order to accomplish this objective, it’s important to have the necessary skills and systems in place. I have tried many things over many years and have settled on what’s simple, reliable, and consistent.
- Foundations: Clarity of purpose and outcomes, and equipping oneself for excellence;
- Relationships: Building and maintaining healthy and effective relationships;
- Systems: Tools and processes for leading and empowering transformation; and
- Balance: Managing multiple priorities and managing self.
Each resource I blog about is one I have tested and used personally. I do not make money on these referrals unless specifically stated in the post.
Today’s resource:
Planning Power-Packed Meetings
The number one killer of team synergy…is…Boring, Unproductive Meetings!
Here is a “must read” post of mine, “An Agenda: The Enemy of Productivity in Meetings”
Meetings are boring, so why don’t we change how we approach them? We have been taught bad techniques and skills, and we repeat them even though they don’t work!
It’s time to try something different.
First, read why you don’t want to use an agenda with the link above. Next, download my free report, “Conducting Power-Packed Meetings.” Go to this link called “Free Stuff” on my site.
Here’s a summary of the 10 tips from my report, which includes a video and a very valuable template for planning meetings.
The following is a list of Hugh’s 10 tips for Conducting Power-Packed Meetings.
- Clearly state the purpose for the meeting: Tell participants what the purpose of the meeting is. If you don’t have one…don’t have a meeting!
- Plan the meeting thoroughly: Planning is key! Spend 2 to 3 times the scheduled time for the meeting in planning the meeting…only if you want results.
- Identify the leader/moderator/facilitator of the meeting: Running meetings is a fine-tuned skill somewhat like directing a musical ensemble. It takes practice. If this is not you…delegate it.
- Begin and end on time: Start and end when you say…no exceptions. None! Respect those who have honored you by being on time.
- Design ways to prompt input from each attendee: If someone has been invited, ensure that they participate. Those who wait have been listening and thinking…what they will add could be a game changer.
- Create a group list of “norms” for process together: Allow the group, if it’s an ongoing group, to define how they will operate. This is a game changer.
- Record the group’s information where all can see: Tell people that you will send meeting notes and ask them to participate. It’s great to actually have their attention and to see faces, not the tops of heads.
- Review the entire process for the session at the beginning: Send the session “deliverables” a day before the meeting and review before you start. Also, define how you will get to the outcomes defined.
- Stay in control of the meeting: When people stray from the agreed upon topic and deliverables, bring them back, gently. Create a list of what you will not do…“Off-Limits.”
- Do not adjourn without setting accountability standards: Create an action plan and a communication plan for activating the deliverables, complete with the name of the champion and deadline.
If you have a bad musical rehearsal, then you are likely to have a bad performance. If you have bad meetings, why, then, do you expect to have good results in your organization? Rehearse for Success is my Leadership Principle #3 called Systems. Create the culture of high performance by setting a high standard and committing to consistency.
Get my free report here: http://synervision.us/free-stuff
Hugh Ballou
The Transformational Leadership Strategist TM
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