Why did you think that was a good meeting? Was it the positive mood? How do you know you weren't wasting your, and more importantly, the team's time?
I remember a senior manager scheduling a meeting, just titled, "meeting with IT". I asked for an agenda and the objective for the meeting, twice. The response: "she just needs to meet with you". How do you prepare for that? It was clear that she needed to be in control no matter whether it wasted my or my team's time.
The studies suggest that managers spend over half their time in meetings, and most of it is miserable.[1] Why is that? The short answer is that too many people don't know how to give good meetings. The prospects can be greatly improved by some advance preparation, and a dose of common courtesy.
The first question to ask is whether the meeting is actually necessary?[2] Can it be accomplished in another way?
If the meeting is necessary, the next three questions are what are the objectives, and what is the agenda for the meeting, and who needs to attend (emphasis on needs).
Afterwards, how do you know it was a good meeting? Ask two bottom line questions: were the objectives set for the meeting accomplished; and were there clear action items and assignments afterward?
For some more tips, see the list of proverbs, below. |