Page 26 - Twenty Four Lessons for Mastering Your New Role

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Run meetings off the cuff

Plan your meetings

In most cases, the best meetings are short meetings.
One of the reasons that meetings get such a bad rap is that they
tend to drag on too long. That often happens when a few individu-
als monopolize the proceedings, or the group constantly veers from
the high-priority issues.
New managers who aren’t accustomed to running meetings may
defer too much to attendees. Or they may overcompensate for their
lack of experience by playing the tyrant and stifling healthy debate.
By preparing well and keeping everyone focused on what counts, you
can save time while building consensus or generating buy-in.
Before the meeting, narrow the scope. Craft an agenda that
defines a specific problem and seeks ways the group can address it.
Don’t overload the meeting with too many disparate issues.
Distribute the agenda in advance, along with related data that
you want everyone to absorb ahead of time. That way, you won’t
waste time in the meeting engaging in information-sharing. Make
sure the discussion focuses on solutions, not defining the problem.
Set up the room to advance your agenda. If you want to encour-
age free-flowing discussion, arrange the chairs in a U or circle. If
you’re eager to reach fast decisions in an abbreviated meeting,
remove the chairs so everyone must stand. Fill out flip charts in
advance so you don’t bore attendees while you do lots of writing.
To rivet the group’s focus on the overriding goal of the meeting,
write it down and post it on a side wall. Point to it whenever the dis-

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