We’ve all had meetings that get derailed, and it happens for a variety of reasons. It usually happens when the meeting is convened without a clear purpose or agenda leading to a lack of focus and unnecessary time-wasting discussions on unrelated issues.
Common Culprits Include
- Lack of planning by the facilitator or presenter
- No clear agenda
- Unprepared attendees
- Allowing unrelated topics to be brought up and discussed
- Permitting individuals to dominate or control the conversation
- Unnecessary attendees
- Lack of time management
Alright, so what do we do about it? How do we control our meetings?
Establish a Meeting Culture
Controlling meetings begins with establishing a meeting culture and implementing ground rules and defining appropriate meeting behavioral norms. A strong meeting culture can build trust and engage team members.
Here some thoughts by role:
Project Manager
- Own the meeting and drive it to the desired outcome
- Set a clear agenda and distribute it before the meeting
- Set a meeting duration and assign a timekeeper if necessary
- Arrive early and insist attendees arrive on time
- Limit discussion to agenda topics
- Use a “parking lot” to table off-topic discussions for another time
- Take notes
- Distribute meeting minutes with decisions and task assignments
- End the meeting on time
- Be prepared to end the meeting early before it derails
Attendees
- Arrive on time
- Be prepared to discuss the agenda topics
- Avoid introducing unrelated topics
Some Final Thoughts
- Avoid free flow meetings
- Reduce the number of attendees to the bare minimum number required to achieve the desired outcomes. Consult your RACI Matrix, it may help determine who should attend the meeting
- Reduce the number of meetings if possible
- Don’t be afraid to interrupt someone and get them back on topic by saying something like, “Let’s get back to the main subject.”