Meetings are valuable for planning, problem-solving, and innovation — so long as they’re well-organized and tied to purposeful outcomes. When they’re not, they can be entirely counterproductive for your goals by draining your team’s time, energy, and productivity.
In 2022, SHRM reported that employees spent an average of 18 hours per week in meetings, with six of those hours being unnecessary. As of this year, that number has decreased to 14.8 hours on average, according to Business Insider, but workers still feel overbooked and find it difficult to focus on their actual work.
Having too many meetings is certainly a recipe for burnout, but it’s even bigger than that. As a leader, you want to make sure that your meetings are not only necessary but also beneficial, motivating, and empowering. Having the right guidelines in place will help your create meeting experiences that inspire creative thinking and efficient project execution.
So, how can you make sure meetings are always valuable?
Set an agenda rule
Consider first if a conversation can be handled by a call, email, or even text and encourage your team to do the same. If the discussion entails a multi-point agenda, share it ahead of time. By setting an agenda rule, you can protect your team’s time from unneeded calendar invites. Each invite should include an agenda with at least three talking points and desired meeting outcome(s). This ensures that meetings are 1) worth the time and 2) as productive as possible. If an invite is missing an agenda, it needs more thought or doesn’t need to happen at all.
Maximize brainstorming sessions
While whiteboarding sessions are common for brainstorming, establishing constraints can actually boost creative performance, according to 111 studies in the Journal of Organizational Behavior. That’s because they go into problem-solving mode faster. For example, you might present a problem and then challenge your team to find a solution using three specific resources, a set budget, and non-negotiable time frame. This approach gets the team into creative mode fast instead of wandering aimlessly around a broad topic.
Take offsites outside
A McKinsey study found that spending time in nature improves cognitive function, boosts connections, and fosters team growth. So, try moving your next offsite team meeting outdoors by planning a picnic work session in a park, at the beach, or another natural setting. While this requires planning and investment, it ensures your team meetings are memorable, productive, and engaging. Switching up your environment gives employees something to connect over and can spark fresh ideas, maximizing the outcomes of your meeting.
Make all-hands meetings move
All-hands meetings that drag on with long monologues and performance reports usually cause employees to tune out. The best all-hands are well-planned, with surprise elements, excitement, and employee recognition to keep everyone engaged and motivated. Even if you’re not responsible for your company’s all-hands, offer to help map out a department-wide meeting, incorporating a variety of peaks (such as company news, awards, or initiatives) and valleys (reviews or reports). Keep each segment brief and actionable. Your goal is to connect and inspire the group, not overload them with information, so try to keep the meeting to one hour to maintain high energy.
Encourage team feedback and planning
Successful meetings are specific to the team they’re for, so gather feedback from your team. Understand what they’d like to see or what has worked well in the past, whether by sending a survey or asking them directly. Take it a step further by involving team members in specific planning areas. For example, if you have an excellent project manager, let them run the project segments. Or, if you have a creative team member, have them lead the brainstorming session. Increased team involvement boosts engagement and results in a more well-rounded and effective meeting.
