Leadership Training: 3 Ways to Ruin a Meeting Management Class

The Leadership Training Institute offers classes that teach participants to confidently use proven methods of management leadership to lead people and help them plan, organize and control their work assignments. Class participants will also learn to use resources made available to them more effectively.

On-Site Classes: can be tailored to the needs of client organization and delivered on-site at time and location of client choice.

Class Objectives:

At the 90-day post-class assessment, participants will have:

Demonstrated (on the job) an understanding that the intuitive style of leadership (self-centered, directive) will only work in special circumstances and will have made noticeable improvement in working themselves toward a management leadership style (participatory, empowering)

Spent more time "leading and managing" and less time "doing"

Used the action planning process to plan and implement at least one important initiative that has a positive impact on business results

Used the decision-making technique on the job to arrive at sound decisions that have or will have a positive impact on business results

Demonstrated greater ability to function in teamwork situations

Developed and successfully used a system of control by exception

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3 Ways to Ruin a Meeting Management Class

Every year billions of dollars are wasted in non-productive management meetings. They're rendered ineffective by everything from the wrong people being invited, or attendees not attending, to people interrupting the meeting by coming in late with their own agendas - the list could go on and on. Eliminating three basic issues will go a long way in reducing the number of items on the list, increasing meeting productivity and ultimately reducing waste.

#1: "Structure spoils spontaneity."

This may actually be true, but if spontaneity were a universally sound business practice we wouldn't need blueprints, business plans, operating instructions or maintenance manuals. Without defining a beginning and an end how would you ever get anywhere, and how would you measure effectiveness? Success is planned.

Start with a goal and an agenda. Webster defines an agenda as a list of things to be done, especially in preparation for a meeting. A successful management meeting will start on time, be conducted with a clear, concise agenda, be controlled in order to achieve the stated goal, and end on time.

#2: "Since it's my meeting, I should do all the talking."

There is a place for meetings intended for one way communication but for the most part meetings are called to discuss needed actions and gather input or opinions. If you're the only one talking, you're working too hard. In addition, most people protect themselves from boring monologues by daydreaming, doodling, or carrying on side conversations, running in and out to check on more important things or, unfortunately, talking on a cell phone.

One way to stop anyone from taking over the management meeting is not to meet at all. Information can be disseminated with a telephone call or email. Call a meeting as a last resort, then invite only the people necessary to accomplish the task at hand and follow the agenda. Related issues that pop up should be dealt with by calling another meeting because the people necessary to resolve the new issues may not be in the room and adding to the agenda means that in order to end on time issues people came prepared to discuss will need to be set aside. Tangential or peripheral issues should be relegated to a "parking lot" and either dismissed or dealt with accordingly.

#3: "Meetings are free."

Most management meetings are paid for with "soft" money. Soft money is money that has already been spent on wages or allocated to overhead. You don't need a purchase order, you don't need to go through a budget cycle - all you have to do is find an empty conference room and send out invitations. This is ridiculous for obvious reasons. Meetings are very expensive. Time costs, and if the meeting takes away billable time from the participants, that time will have to be made up somewhere, usually through overtime or project cost overruns. If the meeting is necessary, only the people necessary to effect the desired results are in attendance, and no more time than that absolutely needed is used, then the meting becomes productive and the expense justifiable.

Source: Dan Light link

Related: Management Class