When was the last time you sat through a meeting and, at the end, thought, “That was really a productive use of my time”?
I’ll give you a minute to think …
Racking your brain to come up with an example? I did, too, especially after reading an article written by Marie Wilson (co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work) that stressed the importance of meetings to “build the morale of an organization.”
What?!?!? Where are these morale-boosting meetings taking place, and why wasn’t I invited? The hundreds (maybe thousands) of meetings I’ve attended in my life have almost universally left me listless, uninspired and a tad more cynical. Whatever good momentum I had going during the day was usually brought to a screeching halt by a mind-numbing meeting. (In case you haven’t guessed, Wednesdays are the big meeting day in my department – two, sometimes three, meetings every Wednesday. It’s painful.)
Wilson’s piece The Joy of Meetings and other columns featured in The Washington Post’s “On Leadership” section argue that in-person meetings are critical, particularly in this day of overflowing in-boxes and an over-reliance on virtual communication. However, they hasten to add, those meetings must be well-run and have purposeful agendas.
Now, no one I know sets out to run an aimless and unproductive meeting. In the minds of most meeting leaders, THEIR agendas are purposeful and participants benefit from the deliberations.
Where is the disconnect here? Any Wise Woman (or Wise Man) out there regularly participate in a meeting that they consider to be worthwhile? What’s the secret? And, what’s the secret for me to get through next Wednesday … and the Wednesday after that … and the one after that?
** Note: I am not a huge fan of the verb “suck,” but being around teens and college students so much, the word has snuck into my vocabulary. And, in a discussion of meetings that drain your energy and suck the life right out of you, I can think of no better term. Sorry if the word turns you off.
10-8-2009 20:35:44
I agree. I sit through far too many meetings where I can barely contain my misery (waste o’ time). That being said – half my job is running meetings – large 30-40 person meetings where I make a lot of people do a lot of work. I try my best to make it well organized and constructive – I just hope it’s as constructive for all who participate as it is for me. I’ve been meaning to do an assessment – and it may just be the time!
10-10-2009 19:38:42
I’ve been thinking about this post and wondering how I can leave a comment without sounding, well, like a know-it-all. The most constructive meetings I’ve had a chance to be a part of were student government (of the school of social work) meetings when I was an MSW student. A group of us decided student government needed to work. We re-wrote the by-laws so that a committee could run things instead of a president. There were six of us who regularly showed up and worked on issues. I made up an agenda before each monthly meeting and circulated it among the committee, and anyone could make additions. We had an hour at lunchtime and decided at the beginning of each meeting about how much time each item needed. If a discussion started going in circles, or we couldn’t find a clear direction in about ten minutes, I asked who wanted to continue work on the issue and report back at next month’s meeting. As MSW students we were supposed to know about leadership, collaboration, building consensus, and community organization. We put what we knew into practice and had a productive year in student government.
10-12-2009 05:57:15
Sharon, I love the fact that your productive meetings took place in academia, which totally turns my thinking on its head. As someone who also was an MSW student participating in a student government group, I wish you had been leading our meetings!
And, wow, Anne – I had no idea so much of your job was running meetings. Wanna come down to Virginia and run a few down here?!?!?
10-12-2009 08:03:14
Interesting topic! As a journalist, I’ve spent countless hours attending meetings as an observer. I learned to bring other things to read or do (including talking with other reporters who were doing their job sitting there) and I learned to “read” what was going on that wasn’t being said. Our news office still had manual typewriters, and I had to wait to get back into the office before I could write my stories. If I were doing the same job today, I think I could have accomplished so much more during those breaks.
Of course, it’s different if you’re expected to participate in the meeting. I’ve found I’ve been most bored by meetings where I was required to be there but otherwise had little reason to be there. I’ve been in meetings that I actually enjoyed. Usually, they were smaller meetings with a very specific purpose, not with a lot of housekeeping items or “old business” to resuscitate.