There is no question that many meetings are unnecessary and could easily be replaced with an email or even a text…
That being said, the more I learn about what makes a leader effective the more I am convinced that meetings are one of the most misunderstood, yet most important, tools available to a leader.
To better understand how and why meetings are so important let’s first establish a common understanding of what leadership is and what meetings are.
Meetings, by definition, are simply the coming together of two or more people. Hence, one-on-ones are meetings. Huddles are meetings. Any time people get together for virtually any purpose it is a meeting.
Leadership, by definition, is the act and process of intentional influence. Hence, leaders do their best and most important work when they are in front of people intentionally influencing an environment of trust within which team members connect, collaborate, innovate, align around common goals and values, solve issues, and inspire action.
Unfortunately, most leaders and managers do not know how to conduct a good meeting. As a result their meetings tend to be disjointed, boring and unproductive. That is why so many managers only hold meetings when they have to put out a fire.
In contrast, Patrick Lencioni, a Nationally recognized expert on leadership and meetings, says that, “Meetings are the linchpin of everything. If someone says you have an hour to investigate a company, I wouldn’t look at the balance sheet. I’d watch their executive team in a meeting for an hour. If they are clear and focused and have the board on the edge of their seats, I’d say this is a good company worth investing in.”
Lencioni’s book, Death By Meeting, helps leaders better understand and utilize this powerful tool. It is a simple read, written in the form of a business fable, and with a helpful summary of principles, concepts, and practical tips.
Lencioni emphasizes the importance of utilizing different meeting formats for different meeting types (daily huddles, weekly tacticals, quarterly strategics, etc.) and avoiding what he calls meeting stew—combining all topics into a single weekly or monthly staff meeting.
Lencioni also explains the importance of having healthy conflict in meetings. He points to what makes for a good movie…struggle…man against man, man against himself, man against his environment, etc. It is not merely the presence of struggle itself that captivates us. It is the overcoming of what seems like insurmountable odds that gives each of us hope relative to our own struggles.
I liken healthy conflict to the pulling of splinters before they fester into bigger issues (see HERBISM #16 Leaders Pull Splinters).
To avoid meeting soup, and the resulting ineffective, long, and boring meetings, it is better to separate the topics and to have more and different meetings that are focused and relevant. I explore the importance of understanding, and more effectively utilizing, the different meeting types in my article Attempting a No-Huddle Offense? How’s That Working For You?
One of my favorite meeting formats for the most common meeting type, the weekly tactical, is the Level 10 meeting format. This format is presented by Gino Wickman, in his book Traction, and in the following video:
The whole point of a Level 10 meeting is to keep the team aligned around, and tracking towards, common goals.
A Level 10 Meeting utilizes a simple format which follows a consistent pattern each week—positivity, accountability to commitments, alignment around values, and a focus on priorities—to ensure the team is making continuous progress towards common goals.
There is no agenda to develop in advance. Rather, the Level 10 Meeting format builds the agenda during the meeting itself and thereby keeps the team focused on what is most important to the organization each week.
Consistency is critical. The team needs to schedule 60-90 minutes each week – same day, same time, and same group on people. Also, start on time and end on time.
Shorter meetings are fine, if there are fewer issues to resolve, but do not shortcut the format. Longer meetings should be avoided so as to not conflict with everybody’s other scheduled events. Topics not dealt with in one week should be tabled for the next week, or a separate meeting should be scheduled to deal with the remaining items.
The format ensures progress is made each and every week!
Also, as necessary, the leader needs to mine for conflict when it seems participants are withholding important facts, thoughts, or feelings.
The effectiveness of your meetings is a direct reflection of the effectiveness of your leadership. So, to increase the effectiveness of your leadership, internalize the ideas and concepts above and start doing better meetings.
Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.