When was the last time you participated in a meeting in which you proudly felt you were investing
your time in something productive? Have you ever had the impression of leaving a meeting where
nothing was decided, even though everyone involved was present? How many times do you feel that
your time would be better spent performing another task or elsewhere?… and above all how do you
feel when you’re called up for a new meeting?
In a world where major political and economic transformations occur rapidly, the definition of
strategies is especially important for organizations, but two not very strategic activities take up most
of the working time of most executives with management roles in companies. It is an activity that
leads us to spend several hours running or at intervals, in front of the computer reviewing and
answering emails and other activity is the one that leads us to participate in an indeterminate number
of meetings, planned or unforeseen, but that occupy more than 50% of the time of executives,
directors and managers.
In my personal experience I have observed how organizations draw guidelines, implement models,
and provide trainings for effective time management, to try to achieve the efficiency of work
schedules, to obtain the appropriate productivity format in meetings…. And it does not work for
them, because they continue to carry the same schemes and models as usual. The problem is not in
the format or in the schematics or in the agendas, the lack of productivity is in the team members
who try to go around the novelties, to fall into the inefficient scheme of always.
Many times, instead of spending time assimilating the new model or the new proposal, time is spent
locating the faults or points that they will not apply in the specific organization. It doesn’t matter
that we analyze the costs of eternal meeting hours according to the salaries of the executives
involved, no matter what we think about over and over again, the need to determine the purpose of
meetings, no matter how many agendas, time control or calculations of possible interactions are
taken to meetings, if you don’t take into account the need to focus on the strategic topics of the
business and set aside the colorful display of personal egos as a peacock that deploys its plumage.
Other elements that do not help in the effectiveness of corporate meetings are:
- The expectation of those who are not present, even knowing in advance or by custom, the
start time of the meeting or the impunity of the convened, who must be kept out to collect
them as a flock, to start the session. - The lack of respect for the topics included in the agenda, leaving for another occasion the
issues that arise outside the agenda. - The absence of timely and responsible accountability to know the status of the strategic
projects under implementation, monitoring and coordinating necessary efforts or resources,
taking advantage of the presence of those who are directly or indirectly involved. - The lack of objective and adequate moderation, being the moderator totally impartial and
neutral, adequately identifying agreements and disagreements. - Not keeping the minutes – a summary of the meeting that includes the agreements, tasks,
managers and dates to complete them… Ah, let this minutes be shared among attendees
within a prudent time. - The absence of meeting completion times which makes it infinite to close it.
Meetings at work mean a need and an opportunity for the monitoring, coordination and evaluation
of the tasks and projects that are being developed at all levels of the organizational structure, the
opportunity is to make these meetings efficient and productive.