Everyone understands meetings are required. Meetings are of course a staple of the corporate world, but meetings are common in all walks of life, from book clubs to networking meetups. Some meetings are very successful. Ironically, meetings in the corporate world seem to be the least effective. This should be surprising since we invest so much time and money in holding meetings. Not only do we have direct costs of attendees, but corporations spend millions on infrastructure to support meetings; meeting rooms, teleconference and video conference facilities, et cetera. And all of this in presence of hundreds of articles written on why meetings fail and what to do about them.

You would think, given the resources expended to support and attend meetings we would be motivated to do the work to make meetings a success. We have checklists and procedures and training in conducting meetings. This should guarantee success, right? We receive feedback from managers on whether the meeting was a failure or a success and what we should do differently later.

Meetings primarily fail when organizers are not properly motivated and fail to motivate their meeting participants and all other stakeholders.

We have all attended meetings, seminars, and conferences we really enjoyed. We have even attended meetings in our own organizations that we consider very successful. So, what was different about these meetings? Again, the difference was motivation.

You may be protesting that this is an unfair comparison; these presenters are trained to hold meetings, they have lots of practice holding meetings, they are making money by conducting the meetings, or they are trying to sell something. Or, maybe they are extroverts and love to speak in front of people.

What separates these organizers from most meeting organizers is they are motivated to put together the best possible meeting. They will be prepared for the meeting to go off without a technical hitch and they will be ready, having spent the time to ensure the story being told is compelling. By doing that, you as an attendee are also motivated, anticipating a learning experience and an opportunity to connect with others.

Intrinsic Motivation

As we have discussed in other posts, intrinsic motivation is essential to building sustainable behavior. In this context, the organizer, the attendees, and the stakeholders must be intrinsically motivated to fulfill their roles in the meeting. According to Self-Determination Theory, (Deci, Feb 2017)

In order to motivate we must provide opportunities to develop mastery, autonomy, and connection.

As the organizer, you are most likely to achieve your goals if you are motivated by the desire to conduct the meeting effectively, developing mastery of the meeting process, mastery over the subject matter, and creating connections with your team to collaborate on the outcome. Your level of motivation will dictate how hard you work to make the meeting successful.

Part of the mastery of the meeting process is to engage the attendees so they are also intrinsically motivated. By ensuring they are able to prepare, they can control the nature of their contribution, providing a sense of autonomy. By ensuring they understand the importance of the meeting content and their contribution, they have the opportunity to develop mastery in their field and to share that with peers. These are opportunities for the participants to develop themselves and join in developing others.

Stakeholders will be motivated to support the meeting if you make them feel connected by respecting their concerns and following up with them to demonstrate the importance of the connection.

So, what do organizers do that demotivates and sabotages the meeting?

Organizing A Meeting to Just to Get Work Done

This often occurs in order to complete design reviews and gate reviews in organizations with a heavy process or subject to government oversight. The actual work should be performed outside the context of the meeting. You may be required to facilitate the connections between members in smaller forums to enable the work getting done. This is far more effective at building relationships between company silos that a large meeting where people read through a checklist. It is also a better forum to solve issues between the groups in advance.

If there has been good engagement among the relevant subject matter experts, then the review is a ratification that the functions are in agreement.

Inviting People Who Have No Role in the Meeting

There is an old joke about participation in breakfast, the chicken is involved but the pig is committed. In meetings, we need only committed participants; this means each person is vital to the meeting and the meeting should only be scheduled when those people can attend. Conversely, only those people with vital contributions should be invited. People who are only involved should not be invited.

In some cases, these people are invited to ensure their egos are not bruised. People who have little direct contribution are less likely to be engaged in the meeting and more concerned about their status, power or authority.

The organizer should identify in advance people affected by the outcome of the meeting. The organizer should discuss any specific concerns to be addressed, commit to a debrief, and then actually follow up. Addressing the issue directly respects the individual while keeping the invitee list relevant.

People who are merely involved are potential disruptions, often have the most difficulty being engaged actively, and are the least likely to provide valuable positive contributions.

Failing to Create Your Vision of a Successful Meeting

If you, do not know in advance how you want the meeting conducted, it is probable there will be no outcome. For example, are you looking for a ratification of a previously investigated topic? Are you trying to brainstorm ideas? Are you trying to solve an intractable technical problem? Are you simply informing people about some event?

The participants need to know how they provide value and that can only happen if you can describe how the meeting will make a difference. They cannot be motivated for something with no obvious direction.

Failing to Prepare the Attendees for the Meeting

If the attendees are unclear of their role in the meeting and their participation has not been clarified, your attendees cannot be motivated to participate. You risk not having required information available to you. Given each attendee has been invited because they are critical to the meeting you must have already communicated what critical contribution they will make. In this way, they can consider how to make the best contribution, in advance.

Being Late for the Meeting

Really? Being late for a meeting conveys the message that you are more important than the sum of all attendees. This message will not be lost on them.

When attendees are late, they have defeated the meeting. Their attendance is critical, their critical contributions have been explained, and they have been engaged. The meeting needs to be rescheduled, and the attendee held accountable.

It is understood that emergencies happen that disrupt meetings. Providing in-person explanation with as much warning as possible and your plans to reconvene respects the attendees and typically they will be sympathetic to your issues.

Being Boring

Meeting leaders are boring when they fail to be passionate. The team needs to see the passion the leader has for this topic in order to feel their contribution matters. The passion will contribute energy to the room and encourage everyone to be more involved.

In advance of the meeting, you should already have communicated to the invitees why this meeting is important. It is helpful to spend some time preparing opening statements that demonstrate your passion and reiterating the importance of the meeting. Meetings are a leadership opportunity. The attendees should feel motivated by the opportunity to contribute.

Being Flustered

When the meeting leader appears flustered or disorganized, the attention of the team will wander, and the desired outcome will not be achieved. In fact, it is possible the leader appears flustered because the desired outcome is unclear. Being flustered and being late are often related. The leader enters the room, conscious of being late, out of breath, and not focused on how to start the meeting.

Failing to Prepare for Disruptive Forces

Meetings are sometimes ruined by a single individual failing to constructively engage in the meeting. The individual may be openly negative, criticizing the object of the meeting or the conduct of the meeting. The disruptor may take phone calls, fail to pay attention, so when they are expected to provide an input, they need to context repeated to them. They may conduct side conversations, distracting other team members.

The meeting leader needs to be prepared for this situation and have a plan in place to ensure the objectives are met. Failing to provide the required contribution is equally disruptive.

Failing to Verify Alignment

Often meetings end, not with a bang but with a whimper. Everyone is in a hurry to leave for their next appointment and they are only minimally engaged. Energy has been sapped from the room.

It is imperative the organizer complete the agenda, handle questions, and then verify the team is aligned on the outcome.

If the meeting leader fails to establish ground taken ensuring all participants agree with the outcome, the leader risks some participants to withhold commitment by using the “but I never said I agreed” defense. Holding everyone to account before adjourning ensures that the team will stand together with the result.

A clear statement by the entire team will pull the team together behind the agreement.

Failing to Follow-up

Once the meeting is complete, the leader has tasks to be completed to ensure the motivation of the team does not lapse and the momentum is maintained.

• Send a note that congratulating the team on their work and the ground taken. This should happen immediately following the meeting. It emphasizes the success, reminds attendees of the importance of their contribution and keeps the attendees aligned behind the outcome.
• Actions identified in the meeting need to be addressed promptly. Following up with the assignee is a reminder of the critical nature of their contribution.
• Affected stakeholders, especially those “uninvited” need to be apprised of the outcomes and next steps. You, organizer, need to maintain the goodwill of the stakeholders in order to keep them engaged and committed to your course of action. Failing to follow-up with them as promised will damage that relationship.

Conclusions

Conducting effective meetings is more than just having tools and checklists and resources. They may be necessary, but they are not sufficient.

 

Recognizing your own motivation for conducting the meeting, encouraging the attendees to be motivated to maximize their contribution to the endeavor, and to ensure all stakeholders are motivated to support the actions are necessary for success.

 

Bibliography

Deci, E. L. (Feb 2017). Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. The Guilford Press.

Pink, D. H. (April 2011). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books.