June 23, 2014 at 10:16 am
Apparently most of the meeting I attend are worlds better than the ones being spoken about here! Admittedly we occasionally get a "time vampire" meeting, but those don't usually last long - if the meeting organizer isn't organized, one of two things happen:
1) Another knowledgeable person steps in and gets things on track.
2) The other people in the meeting determine whether the meeting needs to be held at that time or postponed.
In other words, if I'm in a bad meeting, it's my own darned fault! In our corporate culture, it's okay to just say you don't need to be in the meeting and have more productive things to do. And then leave.
Sadly, not all corporate cultures are amenable to that last, however any meeting you're in that isn't being productive should be "called" - that is, someone needs to be bold enough to say "this is wasting my time - how can we un-waste it?" It's always acceptable to ask for an agenda and say "why am I here?" (And you probably aren't the only one in the meeting wondering that, are you?)
Bad meetings? Frustrated by them? Here's a thought: listen carefully for the patterns of a bad meeting. Then come up with some ideas for changing the meeting dynamic. THEN, try applying them. If nothing else, you'll have done something useful with your time.
Full disclosure: I work from home full time, so all my meetings are teleconferences from my perspective. Yes, hearing and being heard can be an issue at times, but it's pretty easy to work around and sometimes advantageous ("can we hold the side conversations, I can't hear so-and-so and what they are saying sounds rather important").
If I'm in a meeting because someone "might" need to ask for my expertise, I just tell them I'll be multi-tasking, and if they need me to say my name FIRST and then ask the question. Setting up the expectation ahead of time establishes the tone and "rules" so everyone knows how to get what they need without repeating their questions.
Steph Brown
June 23, 2014 at 10:40 am
Stephanie, I like that idea! It's not always possible to "manage up", but there are definitely times as an attendee that I do things to move things back on track (and I suppose, times when I contribute to derailing things!). It is about culture. I had to learn to adapt to cultures that were more free-form than I was used to - big no no in my experience to show up not prepared, but many companies the meeting is where the work (or learning gets done).
Anyway, I'll think on those patterns.
June 23, 2014 at 10:46 am
I've been in a number of meetings where I and/or others have "called" it only for a "time vampire" to take 40 minutes to agree that the meeting needs preparing for!!!
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
June 23, 2014 at 10:55 am
I've found that the more I know about the "time vampires" and other meeting derailers, the easier it is for me to intervene and at least try to bring things back on track. For me, this does two things:
1) Eases my frustration, since I've done my best to make the meeting productive
2) Gives me something to do in a non-productive meeting - an alternative, if you will, to being bored out of my skull. (I hate being bored.)
Every corporate culture is different, yet it's amazing how many techniques will work across cultures.
As for the time vampires, I can only suggest mirrors and the wearing of silver ornamentation (crosses or otherwise). Oaken stakes and silver bullets are generally NOT acceptable, at least in American corporate cultures. :hehe:
Steph Brown
June 23, 2014 at 12:48 pm
If many/most of your meetings are conference calls, you'll love this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJAJEtNUX0
My manager's manager told us it was shown at off-site for higher ups as an example of what not to do.
June 23, 2014 at 2:57 pm
Here's another YouTube video of bad teleconferences (this one is more visual in nature, and just as funny):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYu_bGbZiiQ&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=host
I recently held a series of strategizing meetings, and in the first one somebody put us on hold. We hung up and called in again. In the second meeting I clarified our convention regarding not putting the team on hold. I simply stated that if anyone put us on hold, we would immediately stop and take roll call to find the offender, and then we would tease them unmercifully until we got tired of it.
No one has put us on hold since. 😛
Steph Brown
June 24, 2014 at 7:16 am
lptech (6/23/2014)
If many/most of your meetings are conference calls, you'll love this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJAJEtNUX0
My manager's manager told us it was shown at off-site for higher ups as an example of what not to do.
OMG! I've been on calls like that, too funny. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this link.
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Don't fear failure, fear regret.
June 24, 2014 at 7:21 am
I found that both videos highlighted issues with conference calls. Tardiness ruins meetings. As does lack of both discipline and courtesy.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
June 24, 2014 at 7:22 am
below86 (6/24/2014)
lptech (6/23/2014)
If many/most of your meetings are conference calls, you'll love this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJAJEtNUX0
My manager's manager told us it was shown at off-site for higher ups as an example of what not to do.
OMG! I've been on calls like that, too funny. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this link.
In a "townhall" type conference call where there is a speaker; it just makes sense to put all dial-in callers on mute until the Q/A session at the end.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
June 24, 2014 at 4:46 pm
RP1966 (6/23/2014)
Project managers I have dealt with have a tendency to throw out far too many 'just in case' meeting invitations. A 'just in case' invitation of technical staff to long meetings with lots of participants is a huge waste of time. The more specialist the role a person is in, the more pronounced this becomes.
I have seen this too.
Make the meeting productive and to the point. Engage the participants, otherwise don't invite them.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
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June 24, 2014 at 6:25 pm
SQLRNNR (6/24/2014)
RP1966 (6/23/2014)
Project managers I have dealt with have a tendency to throw out far too many 'just in case' meeting invitations. A 'just in case' invitation of technical staff to long meetings with lots of participants is a huge waste of time. The more specialist the role a person is in, the more pronounced this becomes.I have seen this too.
Make the meeting productive and to the point. Engage the participants, otherwise don't invite them.
Andy addressed this somewhat in the article; here are the relevant lines (at least to my mind):
That’s the trap meeting organizers fall into. If they invite you ‘just in case’ and you’re not needed, the perception is they have wasted your time. If they don’t invite you and something came up that involved you and your team, you’re frustrated that you weren’t invited. Makes it hard to win.
My team runs into this frequently, where we aren't invited to meetings that we "should" be in. Then we don't find out about our part in a project until 2 weeks before the due date, and we have to scramble to get our piece in place somewhere near the due date. In these cases, we're often late with the deliverable, and management sometimes doesn't care to hear why we're late (although that is changing for the better through a rigorous "re-training" effort). :hehe:
I'd rather be in a meeting where I'm not needed :doze:, than miss being in a meeting I should have been at :sick:. The difference in pain-points between the two is huge and distinct.
Steph Brown
June 25, 2014 at 8:41 am
Stephanie, I wish I had called it out better, it's really a topic of its own.
June 25, 2014 at 1:39 pm
I once heard that an executive had all of the empty chairs removed once the meeting had started (on time), so anyone who was late had to stand. I like that!
The more you are prepared, the less you need it.
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