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Punchy, actionable insights and tips to make the life of the team leader a breeze.
[00:00:00] Pia: If there was a topic that has the most words written about it with the least impact, it has to be this one. Just mentioning the word meetings seems to send a chill down the spine of anyone who actually wants to get things done. So let's see if we can change that for your meetings. I'm Pia.
[00:00:19] Dan: And I'm Dan, and this is Squadify Connects.
[00:00:21] Dan: Meetings should be so good, shouldn't they? This is when we actually come together to achieve something, but so often it's just disappointing. So let's use a checklist of four things all conveniently starting with S to make sure yours are worth attending.
[00:00:39] Pia: So here we go. Number one, meetings should be specific. Every meeting should have a clear goal. This can be communication, but think about other approaches for those. Could be decision making, brainstorming, et cetera, and state that goal when you invite people. Sending any reading material at that point too is really useful, and this approach will help you to ensure that you are having a meeting that is really needed.
[00:01:06] Dan: Yes, indeed. And your second S is that meetings should be small. Choose who should be there very carefully. It's hard to get involvement in a very large group, even with your newfound facilitation skills, so let everyone else get on with their own work.
[00:01:22] Pia: And then another S, meetings should be short. Don't default to an hour or 30 minutes. How long do you really need? Can you stop and give people time between meetings? No one has ever said that they have back to backs in a positive way.
[00:01:40] Pia: And meetings finally should be structured. Use the three Ws to structure your meeting. So this would look like W1, what do we want to achieve and why? And this could be sent out in advance. W2, where are we now? Get everyone's views on the situation. Time. Box it so that it doesn't run over into the next part, which is W3, what are our options and what will we do?
[00:02:06] Dan: Yeah, it sounds simple, right? Well, it is simple, but it's not easy. And if it were easy, you'd have been having a lot more good meetings, wouldn't you? So try it out this week. Take a look at your calendar and optimize the meetings you have in there by making sure that they are specific, small, short, and structured.
[00:02:25] Pia: We are pretty confident that you will save yourself some time and you'll certainly get much more out of your meetings this week. See you next time to get into how to have difficult and tricky conversations, perhaps about someone else's meeting.
