Meetings are essential for making progress and making decisions on strategic issues that affect a team and contribute to the company's long-term success. That said, participants who attend too many meetings often see them as obstacles to their work, attending out of obligation or frustration, with limited attention and concentration. Why is this? Because a professional meeting, however simple the term may seem, requires organization, preparation, structure, and facilitation before, during, and after! Taking the time to consider this aspect contributes to the company's results, adds value, and optimizes everyone's time for greater efficiency and engagement.
Claire was chosen by her class to lead a project on the school's social and environmental responsibility. She decided to organize a working meeting to discuss the topic. She sent an email invitation 48 hours before the meeting to the 26 students in her class, plus 20 others from other classes, as well as about ten teachers. On the day of the meeting, only 15 people were present. She asked for their opinions on the actions to be taken. Five people took up the topic and launched into an endless debate about the school's problems, straying from the initial subject. The others observed silently or looked at their phones. The meeting lasted three hours instead of two. And Claire left with a feeling of frustration and incompleteness, and no concrete plan of action.
What happened? Claire's intention was commendable and justified. How could this meeting have taken such a turn?
I suggest we explore what Claire could have done before, during, and after the meeting to improve the situation.
1. Before the meeting
For a meeting to be productive, engaging, and contribute to the profitability of the project or company, it is essential that it be structured, dynamic, and focused. This means that a clear framework must be established, facilitation techniques must be carefully planned, and the meeting's topic must be specific and clearly defined. Here, in chronological order, is what this might look like:
a. Define the theme of the meeting and the topics to be addressed:
First and foremost, it's important to consider the meeting's objectives. This helps maintain focus on expectations and better understand the issues at stake. In Claire's case, this means breaking down the theme of "social and environmental responsibility of her school" into one or two topics to be discussed, in order to generate decisions during the meeting. What does Claire expect from this meeting? What results does she hope to achieve? On which aspects does she need decisions made? What are her current priorities? Which topics are most important and why?
For Claire, it could be:
- The decision was made between installing several compost bins at the school or bringing in a permaculture professional to create a community vegetable garden.
- Creating a budget: defining the different possible financial sources and assigning people responsible for the actions to be implemented.
As mentioned above, one or two topics are sufficient. If other points need to be addressed, then it is more appropriate to organize separate, specific meetings. If too many topics are discussed during the meeting, there is a risk that:
- Having too many different participants makes the meeting difficult to manage.,
- The meeting ended later than planned because not all the topics had time to be discussed.,
- Decisions should not be made.,
- Shares should not be assigned to those responsible.,
- Not all topics interest everyone, and some people risk losing their attention…
b. Identify key participants
Once the topics are clearly defined, it's important to select the meeting contributors. Firstly, because too many people would make the meeting unmanageable, and secondly, to ensure that the right people with the appropriate level of expertise and decision-making authority are present, able to contribute, interested in the topic, and motivated to attend. The goal is also to finalize the topics within the allotted time without having to revisit them afterward. Ideally, not to exceed ten people and to set the pace Meeting time: 45 minutes – 1 hour maximum. If the topics require several exchanges, it is good to organize meetings of this duration at regular intervals, such as once a week for example.
In Claire's case, she could choose to invite 1 person representing each class, 1 teacher representing all the teachers, and the school principal.
c. Construct the agenda – ODJ
Now that the topics and their objectives are defined, and the participant list is ready, let's move on to creating the agenda. To avoid wasting time and to make the meeting interesting and engaging, it's important to predefine a clear and timed agenda. Participants will know what to expect, without surprises or unexpected events, and the meeting facilitator will be able to control the framework, the achievement of session objectives, and the time. Ideally, This agenda must be sent one week before the meeting., This will allow participants time to review it, ask questions, or even adjust it with their input. Keep in mind that the more you involve participants beforehand, the more they will feel heard and valued, and the more motivated they will be to engage with the topic.
A clear agenda contains the following elements:
- The title of the meeting Define a hook that encourages participation, giving a taste of what's to come. A good meeting is like a good movie; it should make people want to attend and hint at the possibility of open and engaging discussions. For Claire, this could be: "Our school of tomorrow: let's not lose the trust of parents, students, and communities because of our environmental practices, even if the budgetary aspects aren't easy.".
- A reminder of the project's context and overall objectives For Claire, it's about the need to make her school compliant with CSR criteria.
- Explanation of the issue to be discussed, the objectives of the session, and the expectations at the end of the meeting. For Claire, it will be important to explain her vision and the meaning behind these actions: o Balancing composting and permaculture o Creating a budget
- Clear presentation of the status and progress of the project : within the scope defined above. Claire will have to explain the status of the various activities. Typically, what is the status of the consultation with suppliers on compost or permaculture, has she already approached funders, etc.
- Request for support from participants Claire will need to explain the support she expects for both topics, for example, arbitrating the decision between composting and permaculture by defining common decision criteria and evaluating them. She will also need to brainstorm possible funding options.
- Actions are assigned to specific individuals, with deadlines for completion outlined in an action plan. The meeting should conclude with a list of decisions taken during the session, broken down into actions to be integrated into an action plan that will stipulate those responsible for the actions and the deadline for completion.
Once the agenda is drafted, it must be sent to participants for approval. Ideally, it should be sent one week in advance, along with the presentation materials. This is perfect, as participants will have time to review all the elements, challenge them, or approve them beforehand. Most importantly, one of the major advantages of this proactive approach is that when the meeting takes place, participants will already have a grasp of the topic and will be able to discuss, generate ideas, and make decisions much more easily and quickly.
d. Ask certain participants to play a role
Facilitating the meeting on the day itself also requires planning. The more proactive you are, the smoother and more efficient your meeting will be, and you'll only have to deal with last-minute issues. You'll avoid risks associated with human nature, such as delays, lack of attention and engagement, and potential tensions that lead to unproductive debates. One solution for managing and refocusing the human element in meetings and fostering collective performance is to delegate tasks to certain participants. This is suggested by Alain Cardon in his book. «"Team coaching", Editions d'organisation, 2003, which explains that various roles can be distributed within the group: facilitator, timekeeper, decision-maker/scribe and process observer. This allows the facilitator to focus on the objectives and guiding the various steps planned in the agenda. It also fosters greater buy-in and participation from the stakeholders, who will genuinely and legitimately take ownership of the meeting. Here is the definition of what is called delegated functions :
Generally, the person who initiated the meeting is the facilitator. Claire should know three other invited people well, who, depending on their personality and skills, will be happy to take on the other three roles.
2. During the meeting
Of course, Claire will have reserved a sufficiently large room or sent a video conferencing link (Teams, Zoom, Skype, etc.), along with the necessary equipment (touchscreen, projector, sound system, paper, pens, flip chart, interactive games, etc.). She will also have ensured that participants arrive on time by asking them to check their video connection or by clearly indicating the room's location. Claire will have avoided absences of key participants and decision-makers by explicitly asking those who are absent to delegate the meeting and decisions to another competent person or a member already present.
Assuming that Claire has prepared her meeting well as indicated in the previous chapter, here are the key steps to follow for a successful meeting, whether remote or in person:
- Start the meeting with a round-table discussion about the day's weather. How are you feeling today? It's important to know the participants' state of mind so they can let go of any potential inhibitions before starting. This will help them understand that they are respected as individuals and valued.
- Follow up with an icebreaker .
To energize participants and relax the atmosphere: you will find icebreakers applicable remotely or in person, for example in the book Meeting Survival Guide: 40 Techniques to Transform Your Meetings, David Lemesle and Marc Bourguignon, May 20, 2016 or 121 tools to develop collaboration: Fostering collective intelligence in your meetings, workshops, seminars, Cyril de Sousa Cardoso and Jean-Christophe Messina, 2019. Or, for online ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSyCYRq0jU4; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80ZNJUG6tXA . I also use applications such as Klaxoon, Mentimeter, Wooclap, Kahoot, etc.
- Establish a framework with operating rules for the meeting, which will allow for the respect of certain behavioral principles and collective intelligence, and for reference in case of digression by one of the members, allowing work to take place in a calm, benevolent and trusting environment:
- Remind everyone of the agenda and objectives of the meeting Repetition does not kill, on the contrary, repetition helps to anchor information and avoids misunderstandings of interpretation: everyone agrees on the priority of the moment and is interested in the discussions.
- Explain and distribute the delegated functions. : everyone will understand the intention and those in charge of the roles will acquire legitimacy to intervene.
- Review the progress status of ongoing actions and submit your support requests. : as mentioned above, where does the project stand; what help does Claire need to move forward.
- Facilitate discussion on the topics :
For Claire, it's a matter of deciding between composting and permaculture and finding more funding. To facilitate a discussion and reach a conclusion, it's important that everyone can express their views and be heard. For this, you can use the talking stick technique: In turn, one person presents their opinion and ideas and passes the baton to another until everyone's ideas are exhausted.
Remember the formula, inspired by Patrick Lencioni's book «"Death by meeting", 2004 :
Constructive debate = effective and satisfactory solutions for everyone without fear of damaging interpersonal relationships.
Unspoken things = latent conflicts = inaction in decision-making
Claire can use animation techniques and idea generation or decision-making games from the books mentioned above and with the help of digital applications, making this phase fun and effective.
- Validate the decisions and contribute to the action plan At this stage, the decision-maker/scribe lists the decisions made during the session, and Claire validates them with the audience. All decisions are then broken down into concrete actions and included in an action plan, which will be monitored between meetings and reviewed at the next one. The actions are defined, a person responsible for each is assigned, and a deadline is set.
- Define the next steps : conclude the meeting by agreeing on the need for another one, when and with what preliminary agenda.
- Request feedback from the process observer This takes no more than 5 minutes and helps improve team cohesion and behavior for the next time. Don't forget the human element; that's what will make the difference!
- Don't forget to say thank you! Thank you all sincerely for your participation and involvement.
3. After the meeting
You've covered the bulk of the ground. Once the meeting is over, all that remains is to send a summary to the participants and those responsible for the agreed-upon actions. This email should be clear, concise, and summarize the main decisions, actions to be implemented, and next steps, including a proposed date for the next meeting. In business, it's often said that the The minutes must be sent no later than 48 hours after the meeting.
Obviously the work doesn't stop there and Claire has to follow the smooth progress of actions between meetings and regularly update her action plan.
Well done, you've reached the end! What do you think of this process? What did you learn and what do you want to apply in your daily life?
4. In summary
Below you will find a summary of all the steps before / during / after which I invite you to print if you wish:
If you would like to benefit from the expertise of a career and educational guidance coach, Write to us now via our contact form for a free initial exchange.
