Bloomsbury Publishing - Manage Meetings Positively: How to Take Charge and Come Up with Results

Manage
Meetings

How to take charge and come upwith results

A & C Black London

A & C Black Ltd 2006

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organisation acting or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by A & C Black Publishers Ltd or the authors.

First published in Great Britain 2006 by
A & C Black Publishers Ltd
38 Soho Square
London W1D 3HB

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

A & C Black uses paper produced with elemental chlorine-free pulp, harvested from managed sustainable forests.

eISBN: 978-1-40813-414-6

Design by Fiona Pike, Pike Design, Winchester
Typeset by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
Printed in Italy by Legoprint

Contents

With so much of your working life spent inmeetings, are you really making the best of your time and resources? Answer the questions to find out if youre managing your meetings effectively, and providing strong, structured leadership.

1. When do you call a meeting?

a) First thing every morning, with everyone expected to attend.

b) When key issues will be best sorted out face to face with all the relevant people in attendance.

c) Its usually an ad hoc, last-minute affair.

2. How do you handle difficult situations that arise in meetings?

a) I shout loudest, shout longest.

b) I try to keep maintain balance and control.

c) Im more your passive aggressive type.

3. How would you approach a meeting with people from a different culture?

a) Its my way or the highway.

b) Id do some research beforehand to found out some basic rules.

c) I tend to muddle through and keep smiling.

4. How assertive are you?

a) Very, but I think I verge on aggressive at times.

b) Relatively so. I think its the best way to help others communicate better and to facilitate the best outcome.

c) Not very. Anything for a quiet life.

5. Are you a decisive person?

a) Yes, but I can be a bit hasty.

b) Yes, but I take my time. I try to think through all the options first.

c) Im not sure.

6. How do you feel about virtual meetings?

a) I wish all my meetings were virtual!

b) They can save a lot of time and money, but there are a few drawbacks.

c) Lukewarm, to say the least.

7. How well do your brainstorming sessions work?

a) They generate lots of ideas, but nothing that sticks.

b) Well. The key is to harness the creativity of your team.

c) Theyre just not my thing. I prefer more structure.

a = 1, b = 2, c =

Now add up your scores.

: You dont lack strength and authority or the ability to get results but your manner and strongarm tactics could be preventing you from getting the right results. Through tact, negotiation, and diplomacy you could bring out the best in your team members. Remember that the point of a meeting is to interact with others, not just to present your opinion. Chapter deals extensively with ass ertiveness and how to walk the fine line between assertive and aggressive.

: You seem to have got it just right, providing leadership from the centre, listening and responding well to the demands of managing a meeting. Dont be afraid to put down the management manual once in a while and exercise your own creativity as well as facilitating others.

: People are a problem, arent they? Let your good nature be an asset rather than a burden, by building up your backbone and flexing those key skills that got you the job in the first place. You need some positive structure to strengthen your talents. Read on!

Meetings are a necessary evil in everyones working life. Handled well, they can help those attending to get to the bottom of a tricky situation, agree actions, and do something positive. Handled badly, they can be a terrible waste of time. Basically, you want to get in and out as soon as possible with the relevant decisions made so that you can get on with the rest of your day.

This chapter offers advice for anyone who has to plan and chair a meeting. Special arrangements need to be made for large events such as board meetings or annual general meetings, so in this chapter we focus only on the type of meeting held most commonly in an everyday work situation.

Step one: Decide if you really need a meeting

Meetings are not always a good use of peoples time and effort.

If someone suggests that a meeting be held to discuss an issue related to your project, team, or department, think hard about whether gathering the attendees in one place is really the best thing to do.

There may be more efficient alternatives. For example, you could try:

Conference calls or videoconferencing. If you have access to these facilities, or can afford to use or acquire them, they offer a good way of holding a discussion without having to disrupt the attendees day too much.

E-mail. You could send a message to all relevant parties, setting out the issue clearly, asking for a response, and giving a deadline. Double-check that you have included everyone before sending it.

If all else fails, though, and a face-to-face meeting seems to be the best and least unwieldy way of agreeing action on the issue at hand, prepare as much as you can in advance and delegate where appropriate.

TOP TIP

Think carefully about the type of meeting you need. Brainstorming sessions or creative discussions dont fit easily into well-planned timetables, so may be best slotted into less hectic times of the week, month, or year.

Step two: Do the initial planning

1 Think carefully about who to invite

To avoid wasting time and money, try to limit numbers by inviting only those who really need to be at the meeting. These will be people directly involved in decisions that must be taken, those significantly affected by any actions, or those who have some specific knowledge to contribute.