How to Run a Meeting That Is Not Soul Sucking

I was a junior 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army, I almost died. Not from an enemy sniper or improvised explosive device, no I truly almost experienced death by power point. Of course, I am joking, but I literally sat in meetings 4 hours EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for almost a year. Some would argue that these meetings were vital, after all we were dealing with bad guys who wanted to hurt us, so we needed to share intelligence of what was going on in our area and plan exactly what we are going to do to hurt them before they hurt us. Without a doubt, this was an extremely important part of the meetings; but what it was painful that the meetings were allowed to go on for so long when a concise, 60-minute meeting would have sufficed.

I have been in meetings that suck the will to live out of your soul, but I have also been in meetings that are so well run, that when they are over, you are pumped up – ready to take off on a marathon. When done correctly, the weekly meeting is an extremely powerful tool to get team members focused on what is critically important. Running an effective meeting is as much art as it is science, but I have found that effective meetings share these 3 characteristics.

1. Consistency. Meetings should help drive the rhythm of a business. As such, it is critical that the meetings be consistently held on the same day of the week, time, location, agenda, participants, etc. These meetings should be treated as sacred with everyone setting their schedule around them. Since this meeting is held in such high regard, then the leaders owe it to everyone else to be consistent on closing the meeting at the same time. If it is determined that the meeting is going to only take 60 minutes, then do not let it go to minute 61! If there is more information to discuss than can be covered in the allotted time, then the leadership has to get creative and find another way to effectively communicate it.

2. Set Priorities. Parkinson’s law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. This is why leaders must constantly be aligning the team with the priorities. Unchecked, we will allow things that are needed to get completed suck time away from activities that are critical to success. Priorities, action items, and responsibilities of accomplishment should be clearly defined, communicated, and agreed to. Priorities must also be limited. If everything is a priority, then nothing is. How do you define the priority for your team? Ask yourself, what is the single thing that MUST happen in order to achieve success?

3. Accountability. It is bad than when priorities are defined, communicated, and agreed to…… and then they don’t get completed. This frustration is amplified a thousand fold, if nothing happens to the offending party. To me, it is a complete waste of time to have meetings when responsible parties are not accountable for their actions. Afterall, we have all agreed to set this time as sacred and we all agreed on what the priorities were. If we are not going to hold each other accountable, then what is the point? This is were the art of leading a meeting comes in. The best leaders will hold the team (including themselves) accountable but in a productive, loving, caring, firm way. Nothing crushes the morale of a team member than a harsh word spoken at the wrong time. Nothing pushes a team member to get better than proper accountability and support at the right time.

The most effective meetings that I have been part of were structured Level 10 meetings as outlined in Gino Wickman’s book Traction. I have literally heard CEOs of companies with $10 million+ revenue say that the Level 10 meetings have radically changed their company! Verne Harnish, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits is another amazing book that outlines how to have proper meeting rhythm and what data to track. The point is that there are tools available for every entrepreneur to create a meeting rhythm that gives life to their employees, not crushes their soul.

Being an entrepreneur is one of the most difficult and demanding things you can do. The good news is that entrepreneurship today is a team sport. Hit the connect button on LinkedIn or Facebook NOW and together we will work towards hitting your 10-year target. Along the way we will increase your profit, strengthen your leadership skills and define your strategic vision. This will lead to confidence in your path, freedom to dream up bigger targets and a strategic banking relationship. When we connect, tell me about your most soul sucking meeting experience (misery loves company).

Greg Martin is an entrepreneur’s insider to the banking industry and passionately believes that every person was uniquely designed for a higher purpose and calling. Greg guides entrepreneurs in defining and achieving their purpose and calling. His deepest passion is living life with his wife and their wonderful son.