Chairing Meetings Successfully

Chairing Meetings Successfully

1. Chairing Meetings Successfully By: Bishara Adam 1

2. Definition of Meeting 2 A meeting is a gathering of two or more people where positive discourse occurs.

3. What is a Productive Meeting? 3 A productive meeting is where the result of the meeting is achieved by the creation of something tangible that will help the overall success of the company.

4. Why have a Meeting? 4 To solve a problem. To make a decision. To develop a plan. To gather or convey information. To get a response to information. To obtain approval/reach consensus. To establish understanding/rapport. To clarify responsibilities. To create a sense of teamwork.

5. Preparing for Meeting 5 Organizing a meeting can be a monumental task in the workplace. The following are the key steps in attaining the first ingredient to a successful meeting: preparing, or to assemble, arrange, or produce a meeting effectively . 1. Create an Appropriate Agenda 2. Define the Meeting Objectives 3. Invite the Right People to the Meeting 4. Choose the Right Time 5. Prepare Information

6. 1. Create an Appropriate Agenda 6 This agenda should be distributed to meeting participants ahead of time. It should have any past review material and the new issues detailed on the agenda. The time and length of the meeting should be mentioned in the agenda.

7. 2. Define the Meeting Objectives 7 In order for any meeting to be successful, it has to accomplish something. The meeting objectives detail exactly the point of why the meeting is being held and what will be accomplished.

8. 3. Invite the Right People to the Meeting 8 Once the objectives are created, the meeting should have the correct players in order to achieve the needed goals. If someone is missing whose expertise is needed, the entire meeting is a waste of time.

9. 4. Choose the Right Time 9 The meeting time should be short and the time used efficiently. If the meeting runs long, it is important to ask for everyone's consent to extend the time frame.

10. 5. Prepare Information 10 It is important to come to the meeting with all information needed. Questions and concerns should be able to be addressed.

11. Opening a Meeting 11 Inform – Excite – Empower – Involve Inform – Let the participants know the purpose of the meeting. Excite – Explain the benefits of the meeting and why this meeting should be important to them . Empower – Describe the role they will play or the authority that has been given to them . Involve – Get them involved immediately through an engagement question that furthers the meeting purpose.

12. Inform 12 Use words like the following at the beginning of meetings: “The purpose of this meeting is…When we are done, we will walk away with…” These words inform everyone of why we are here (purpose) and what we will have when we are done (product). These words help get everyone on the same page.

13. Excite 13 The goal of the excite segment is to answer the question, “Why should I care?” Without the excite, you may have people in the room, but are they really at the table ? How do you excite? You excite by making statements that answer the question for them, “What’s in it for me ?”

14. Empower 14 The goal in empowering participants is to ensure that they are clear on the power they have while in the meeting. When people feel empowered, they tend to be less hesitant to participate in discussion and more willing to offer their thoughts and ideas. Often a single, focused, empowering statement is adequate. Other times you may find that multiple statements are needed to empower a group that is used to being told what to do.

15. Involve 15 After delivering the opening, consider getting the participants immediately involved. The involvement step engages everyone quickly and prepares them for the rest of the meeting . How do you involve participants early in a meeting? For some teams, it is best to start with a question that is focused on the task at hand. For other teams, it may be more appropriate to start with a question that takes more of a people-focus .

16. Conducting a Meeting 16 The next part of a productive meeting is related to how it is conducted. Conducting is administrating or orchestrating a meeting in the workplace by following basic guidelines : 1. Be an Effective Leader 2. Assign a Note Taker

17. 1. Be an Effective Leader 17 The leader of the meeting should not take over the meeting and talk the entire time. A good leader will listen and ask questions in order to be productive. Everyone at the meeting should have an opportunity to talk.

18. 2. Assign a Note Taker 18 A note taker should be assigned to take detailed notes and then summarize key points at the end of the meeting. It is good to rotate the assignment of the note taker for each meeting.

19. Closing a Meeting 19 1. Provide a high-level summary of the meeting, avoiding details of discussions but addressing key points and plans, and making sure everything that needed to be covered, was covered. 2. Key decisions. Recap the agreed position for each agenda item to make sure everyone know what has been decided. Make sure that you have the consensus and support in this .

20. Closing a Meeting 20 3. Action assignments. Make sure that action owners know what’s expected from them, and are in agreement with the desired outcome and next steps to be taken. 4. Focus on achievement. If your goal has been achieved, or the immediate course of action is sufficient to reach the goal, call the meeting a total success and thank everyone for their time. If the goal is further away, make sure you summarise the progress made, set a time for the next meeting and tell the action owners you’ll be following-up with them before hand about these actions .

21. Closing a Meeting 21 5. Don’t forget to thank your participants for their attendance and contribution to the meeting.

22. Causes of Unproductive Meetings 22 Purpose of the meeting is unclear. There is no agenda/organization. The leader tries to accomplish too much. The meeting starts late. Too many people are at the meeting . The leader loses control. One person dominates the meeting. Individuals wander from the topic. Individuals go back over old items. No clear direction/no clear conclusions are reached.