More people work from home than ever before. I drive past banks that used to be very busy for example and I see virtually empty car parks. As more people work from home, we spend more in virtual meetings. What the pandemic has done is accelerate the “always-on” culture.
A lot more people are putting in exertion and working longer hours. And then there are so many meetings as well. But a meeting need not be part of the many extras people have to sigh about. We need them for updates, direction, measurement, and more. How can we then put into good use our meetings?
And a good agenda is the first step to a successful meeting. To make the best of everyone’s time, leaders can turn their bullet points into questions that will drive to the outcomes the team is looking for.
For example, instead of a general topic like “Budget review,” we can try a specific question like, “How will we reduce our spending by 35% by the end of the fiscal year”? Preparing these questions before the meeting will make it easier to determine who should be there and how much time is required. And anyone appointed as the timekeeper for each bullet point should be empowered to be ruthlessly professional about his/her task.
This questions-based approach to the agenda has helped us at D&I Consulting focus, engage, and get results from our meetings. You should try it too.
And like Steven G. Rogelberg said, “ if you can’t think of questions to ask, maybe you don’t need that meeting after all!
