Why some meetings don’t work?
The biggest complaint about meetings from participants:
- too long
- not sure why I’m here
- too many
- not sure what we achieved/decided.
Sound familiar?
Where the minute taker can assist
Never underestimate your power as a minute taker as to where you can quietly influence how meetings are run.
Sometimes that work occurs even before the meeting.
The two most important questions to ask
The two questions below are the ones that you need to either ask the chairman directly or be satisfied of in your mind.
Do we really need to meet?
This is the first question that needs to be asked before anything else.
There needs to be a very clear reason to call a meeting.
Solution: Have the meeting purpose written at the top of the agenda
Agenda
Compiling an agenda will help ascertain why the meeting is taking place, what will be discussed and will help participants in their preparation.
Solution: Draft an agenda for the chairman immediately after the last meeting. At an appropriate time, email the draft agenda for the chairman for his/her initial input.
See my previous post for more tips on how to develop an effective chairman-minute taker partnership.
Really think about what work you can do behind the scenes to ensure that meetings in your organisation are effective and efficient.
What do you do that ensures meetings in your organisation are productive?
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