| How do I make routine meetings more productive? | Make sure every item on your agenda has a purpose. Like, literally, put one of these tags on each agenda item so people know what to expect: FYI, Decision, Feedback, or Workshop. |
At some point, everyone who works in an office asks the same question: how do we make staff meetings more productive? (Or board meetings, or committee meetings, or any other standing meeting that you know you need to have but struggle to make engaging.)
“How do we do meetings better?” is like the workplace equivalent of “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” It’s an eternally asked question with no obvious right answer— yet, somehow, it feels important to keep asking.
Luckily, the purpose tag technique really can make a difference. It won’t solve culture or performance problems, but it does help healthy teams use their time effectively and avoid miscommunications. And who doesn’t love that?
When you create an agenda for a meeting, be clear about the purpose of each item. Be so clear about it that you write the purpose into the agenda for all to see. That’s it. That’s the secret.
By “purpose”, I don’t mean some kind of deep, philosophical exploration. Purpose just means telling people why an item is being raised and what you need from the people in the room.
Specifically, there are four reasons to talk about something in a routine meeting:
When people don’t know why something is being talked about, what’s expected of them, or what they should expect from others, meetings tend not to be very productive. People check out or even turn grouchy.
When the group has a shared understanding of what topic is being discussed and why, meetings go better. You can use everyone’s time and talents effectively, which makes the experience more productive and more enjoyable.
This is the power of the purpose tag.
Meetings are when two or more people get together for structured collaboration that advances your organization’s objectives.
Lectures and rants are not meetings. Training, coaching, and teaching are not meetings. Social gatherings are not meetings.
The hallmarks of a meeting are multiple people, purpose, structure, and collaboration.
Meetings can happen in person, online, by phone, or through a group chat. They are synchronous, meaning that every person participates at the same time. Most importantly of all, they are interactive. Collaboration isn’t an optional part of a meeting; it’s the core reason for coming together.
With that in mind, let’s explore the four reasons people talk about stuff in meetings.
An “FYI” is a statement. It’s when you share a piece of information or a resource that others may need to do their jobs. There’s no discussion required, no response, just “here you go”, then on you go.
A round of rapid-fire FYIs at the top of the meeting is a great way to warm everyone up. Even if you have 10 people passing along info, you can do it in 5 minutes or less. It’s also a strategic time to highlight new knowledge, new staff, or recent achievements. Leaders can set the tone for a meeting by choosing what types of information to share and highlight routinely.
The key with an FYI is that it’s quick. Share and get on with it. You can always capture the links or key info in meeting notes for people to follow up on later if they wish. It can take some practice to get used to the pace, but you’ll appreciate the extra time and energy you have for the topics that come next.
A decision is a request for a choice between one or more options. I especially like this tag for organizations where managers have a lot of work on their plates. People can bring decision requests (or reminders) to a meeting. The request should come with enough context to explain the options, and ideally a recommendation from the person bringing the request forward.
For boards and committees, decision-making may be the main focus of the agenda. You might need time to discuss each decision, provide relevant background documents, and allow space for debate.
Feedback is an explicit request for information, perspective, or advice from the group. Many people call this section of an agenda “Discussion”, but I find that encourages people to talk for the sake of talking. When we love what we do, we can discuss it at great length. Very. Great. Length.
Using a label like “Feedback” or “Input” reminds us that someone has a very practical need for information, and the group’s role is to be useful.
Anyone on the team should be able to bring forward an item for feedback. You can let people add to the agenda themselves, or you can have one person vet and organize the requests. But in general, Feedback is a time for people to get better at the work they’re doing or for the group to be consulted on important actions.
If an item requires feedback from only one or two people and it’s going to take some time, push it to the end of the meeting. That way, the people involved can remain while the others go free.
Workshopping is when the group explores a challenge or an issue without necessarily resolving it, making a decision, or finishing anything.
Workshopping is the most time-consuming type of agenda item, and you don’t need to do it at every meeting. It’s usually scheduled for the end, when the other business is done.
A workshop item should be framed around a specific question or challenge. Someone needs to take the lead on framing the question, but the session should be very participatory. This is time for deep collaboration and strategic focus.
The open-ended exploration and the time involved are what separate a Workshop process from Decisions or Feedback.
You can see why purpose tags help. You’ve probably been in a meeting when someone tries to pass along some information and another person launches into unsolicited feedback. You’ve probably squirmed awkwardly when you shared an idea only to be met with silence. You’ve definitely popped into a 15-minute meeting and found yourself still in the weeds of it three hours later.
When you add purpose tags to an agenda, you create clarity. Everyone knows why an item is being discussed, which minimizes confusion and conflict.
You build continuity and a sense of narrative, as people notice the discussions and workshops lead to decisions. Then decisions lead to actions which result in FYIs and celebrations. Over time, your group’s ability to share information, make decisions, provide feedback, and work through complicated questions becomes stronger and stronger.
All you need to do is to add a tag to each item on your meeting agenda, making the purpose clear. Write FYI, Decision, Feedback, or Workshop beside the item and set aside the appropriate amount of time.
When you do this the first few times, take a moment to talk about those tags with people so they know what they’re looking at.
One approach is to organize the entire agenda by purpose. Put your FYIs up front, then your requests for decision, then feedback, then your workshop item(s).
Another approach is to organize an entire meeting around a single purpose. Maybe you really need to workshop an idea, or maybe you want to give people a full hour to update each other on recent achievements. You don’t need to cover all four every time.
The simplest way to start is to keep your agenda as it is, but add the purpose tag beside each item.
Play around with the approaches and labels. Find the ones that work for your team. Once you find the routine that works for you, you’ll never look back.
If you want more help with purpose tags, here are some more resources:
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