The 5 Secrets To Leading Great Meetings

March 21, 2013

Meetings get a bad rap, and deservedly so – most meetings are disorganized and distracted. But they can be a critical tool for getting your team on the same page.
Over years of iteration while working at Google, Facebook, and Asana, I’ve found a way of leading meetings that ensures we discuss the most important things, quickly and efficiently, and that things never fall through the cracks.

1. Know when to email vs. when to meet.

Logistics are best handled over a non-immediate communication channel like email or Asana tasks. Detailed status meetings will suck the life out of your day.
But when topics are complex and meaty, don’t create a never-ending email thread. It’s amazing how much time people waste composing and reading carefully-worded essays, when a 5 minute in-person chat would resolve the whole thing.

2. Capture goals ahead of time.

Throughout the week, as you find those meaty topics, don’t keep everything in your head. Remembering is stressful, and you’ll forget important questions. Just add it to the agenda, in a shared Google Doc or an Asana project.
Everyone can do this. By the time the meeting starts, the agenda already includes everyone’s ideas. No more wasting the first 10 minutes figuring out what to talk about.

3. Timebox aggressively.

Establish how long you’re going to spend on each topic, and stick to it. Talking about a topic for 20 minutes will probably lead to a better decision than talking about it for 5. But if the topic only deserved 5 minutes, you’re not gonna have a chance to talk about all the other important items. Or, worse, you’ll spend all day in meetings. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the great.

4. Make each agenda item a race to clarity.

Go through each item: Extract information and perspective from the team, identify next actions, and owners for each action -- as quickly as possible. If you’ve extracted all the perspective but it’s not clear what the right decision is, don’t debate or ruminate. Assign someone to think about it and trust them to make the decision -- even if it’s not how you would have made it.

5. Guarantee follow through.

By the end, you should have a written list of every new action item. Each should have one owner (not two) and a timeline. Keep that list in the same place you’re keeping the running agenda.
Then, when it’s time for the next meeting, you can immediately see all the items from last week. Hopefully each owner will just nod that they did what they committed to. Now things won’t fall through the cracks, and you won’t spend the first 10 minutes remembering what you decided last time.

The bottom line.

When leaders know how to lead great meetings, there’s less time wasted and less frustration. We have more energy to do the work that matters, realize our full potential, and do great things.
What’s worked for you for having great meetings? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

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John B., Tumy T., Sheila K., Staci K., Kara S., Tiffany W., John A., Ann A., Megan J. and Ragav D. like this
Satish C. Good one... One point I would like to add is about 'Focus'. Meetings can easily get off track and side tracked. The result? Meetings do not achieve their goals. Meeting leaders and participants must actively work to keep meetings focused on the agenda items. Whenever you see the meeting drifting off track, speak up and push the other attendees to get it back in focus. 39m
Rajesh D. Good one 40m
Richard L. Good article! Actually, there are some meeting tips in most of the conference rooms. I really think new employees should get certain professional training on project management. 42m
Joshua C. great article, sometimes a little preparation and focus can save a lot of time. 43m
Kathy K. Great! In addition to focusing on results, I would add to set 2 expectations: 1. Be on time and start the meeting on time; don't wait for laggards 2. If there is material (data, resource, etc) that is needed to have a fruitful discussion and an informed decision, send it out at least a day ahead and ensure that people read it and are prepared before the meeting. Thanks! 1h
Laurie A. Great article - 1h
Mary F. Excellent article, thank you! 1h
Miguel E. E. You are missing keeping an eye on how much these meetings cost vs how much you can accomplish. There's an app for that though! Check meetr-app for iOS... your meeting will never be the same! 1h
John C. Yes, great points, indded! I want to add, staing the intent or purpose of the meeting is critical, AND stating the outcome or goal(s) as specific, measureable results keeps it in focus. The faciliatator and others have to keep asking; are we moving towards those goals and specific items (e.g., identify someone to take on X, or state the recommendation to sr. management). This is different than the purpose which may be higher-level and not include the specifics. Furthermore, the agenda keeps the meeting on-track, and sometimes, especially for longer meetings the agenda should be reviewed, sometimes recent developments negates some items, and sometimes more critical topics require discussion. In that case the purpose and measures of success may need to be changed...things happen and flexibility is not always bad. In this case it is not the same "meeting". Lastly, ground rules should be established, and everyone should commit to moving the conversation forward, which, if people are commited to this, minimize restating, and veering off into research tangents. Thanks. 1h
Tony O. Excellent advice although the time-boxing element is not one I've adhered to regularly in the past. 1h
Omar K. Very articulate. I'll be sharing these pointers as a reminder with my Business Marketing undergrad students so they don't form bad habits as they enter into respective industries. 1h
John K. Stop commenting - let's meet! 2h
Rachel K. Great list! Nothing is more frustrating than time-wasting meetings. I would also add that a clear leader is neccessary. We 've all been in mettings where nothing is produced because there is no actual leader, only a meeting organizer. 2h
Bernadette B. I can totally relate to the article. Organized meetings and attended meetings. Found that these are time wasters if both the organizer and participants are unprepared. I particularly like the way meetingresults for business app. The way it is designed it helps the organizer of meeting to plan and also the note taking easy as it meeting notes are categorized into actions, decisions, issues, and risks and are easy to follow. Even without using the app, the meeting plan design which uses time boxing and the way note taking will be categorized can be done on word or excel, 2h
David B. Marvelous topic and one to which we can all relate – Splendidly articulated 3h
Mamoun A. nice great article. There is no doubt to anyone what the plan was for the meeting, This ensures that the meeting will be very good, where by the end nothing was solved and more time had been wasted. 3h
Jonas G. Have done all except nr 3, next time I also try your secret nr 3. 3h
George (Tim) C V. Great article. One thing I would like to suggest is put the meeting agenda on a powerpoint. There is no doubt to anyone what the plan was for the meeting. It will help you hold each other accountable to the time limits for each discussion point. I agree that it is: "Agenda, Agenda, Agenda!" 3h
Jeanne B. Great guidelines to follow! Many meetings tend to steer off track and never accomplish the goals set forth. These tips are a great way to stay on topic and accomplish more! Thank you! 3h
Jeanne B. Great guidelines to follow! Many meetings tend to steer off track and never accomplish the goals set forth. These tips are a great way to stay on topic and accomplish more! Thank you! 4h
Sailosi K. Great post ,and very helpful in clarifying what outcomes to target, and maximise the productivity and value of meetings. Time is a precious commodity these days and leveraging the most out of meetings, and engaging stakeholders systematically is an invaluable skill. 4h
Anthony C. Love it! Great ideas to beat that meeting to meeting syndrome that all companies and organisations suffer. 4h
Pragyna S. clear and crisp!! 4h
Mark U. Great article! 4h
Prasad K. It's an excellent artical....the people who love having a meeting/conducting meeting should read !!! 4h
Murray G. S. It takes a very good meeting to be better than no meeting at all. This ensures that the meeting will be very good 4h
Erica A. THANK YOU! Know when to email vs. when to meet. Logistics are best handled over a non-immediate communication channel like email or Asana tasks. Detailed status meetings will suck the life out of your day. But when topics are complex and meaty, don’t create a never-ending email thread. It’s amazing how much time people waste composing and reading carefully-worded essays, when a 5 minute in-person chat would resolve the whole thing. 4h
Ailyn C. brilliant! eliminates redundancy. 4h
Michelle P. Love it and will implement -- Thanks EMILY!! 5h
Mike G. I have actually been to meetings where they allow drinking before and during. As you can guess, some great ideas usually got passed. 5h
Dana K. My team has a morning meeting every work day to share upcoming events/actions, check status of metrics measured daily, and escalate issues for assignment or management action. To keep it on track and on-topic, we stand for the meeting gathered around a large monitor to review all details that posted on our team collaboration website. Meetings are usually less than 10 minutes long. 5h
Nikolas P. I absolutely agree. The number one key component is to plan out what the meeting is about, and more importantly, what will be accomplished by the end of the meeting. I've spent countless hours in meetings, where by the end nothing was solved and more time had been wasted. 5h
Sergejs O. Effectively, intelligently and wisely. 5h
Flag and Hide mike D. Nice article on meetings 101. Today's meeting problems are mostly cultural and self-fulfilling prophecy. Many folks use meetings like upper management uses training [see problem, send everyone to xyz training, check problem solved box]. Having a meeting shows that you are 'trying', but because meetings have a bad rap, the meeting date is put off. By the time that the meeting occurs, there is a lot of pent up angst - on subject and off subject. Shorter, more focused, and more frequent meetings can be more productive. It is amazing what you can do in 3 standup, 11 minute meetings vs. 1 three agenda meeting [assuming that an in person meeting is required]. Small teams or a small number of relevant attendees, like 3-5, can gather around one workstation with the agenda displayed and resolve 2 or 3 issues in a short amount of time. Some focus, training, and a little problem solving can institute an effective 'Agile meeting discipline'. But we have always done it _this_ way..... 5h
Margaux P. Thanks for sharing about Asana!! Great tool...especially for virtual teams working remotely. 5h
Mark K. Agenda, Agenda, Agenda! 5h
Matjaz G. There can be no great meeting conducted with everyone having her own notebook open. Notebooks are a killer of attention and focus. Be on the same page - use a flip chart 6h
J. Kelly C. I use a Scrum approach to weekly team meetings. Each team member reports on: 1) tasks completed since last meeting; 2) tasks in progress for completion this week (and beyond if appropriate; 3) any issues encountered, resources needed, or tips to share. Keep the meetings short, to the point, and document/update as you go. 6h
Loretta O. I would add that if your organization or department has weekly meetings there is a benefit to sharing the leader role. Asking for volunteers or taking turns facilitating the meeting can bring a 'fresh' voice to a necessary function. 6h
Courtney M. Sticking to a timeline is key - a one hour meeting can easily turn into 2.5 hours if no one is capping the conversation or moving the agenda along! 6h
Bruce L. Excellent points. I especially like point # 3. In my opinion, a time structure is crucial to a successful meeting. 6h
Selah C. Shared resources are so helpful. They help every member of the team to take responsibility for their own tasks. 6h
Diana C. Some great points here. Sending out the agenda in advance is one of the most important but often overlooked one. 6h
Ramon T. great write up. 7h
Preston M. I love the idea of using a shared resource which all attendees can access and edit, such as Google Docs, to capture goals and ideas. 7h
Dick A. The Roman Catholic Church and the Church of the Nazarene will have to face the fact that Malachi 4:5 promises the return of Elijah the prophet. Many Holy Bible scholars and theologians know he must return. Dr. Dwight Pentecost and Dr. Cyrus I. Scofield wrote of this theological certainty in Dr. Pentecost's book "Things To Come", and similarly, Dr. C. I. Scofield verifed this prophetic truth in his Reference Bible under Matthew 17:11, Revelation 11:3 and Revelation 19, in his notes w/r to these pasasages, Dr. Scofield places the return of Elijah as number one in the events leading up to the rapture. Dr. Pentecost proves that John the Baptist did not fulfill the return of Elijah. And exactly as Elijah came the first time - to cleanse the Church - just so he has returned again to do the same. And sad as it may sound when he came to Mt. Carmel he condemned the whole ecclesiastical system. He is doing the same today...not the Christians, but "the system". 7h
Ram K. Nice one. If it is a brainstorming session, I prefer that to be a no-laptop room. RACI chart could also be helpful for SOD. 7h
Damien N. Great article, one thing I would include is to be punctual. 7h
Michelle M. Excellent article! I have a tip to guarantee follow-up that has worked well. We send out the agenda a week ahead with assignments listed on it. That gives a gentle reminder of who was supposed to do what and gives them enough time to get it done and come out a hero. 7h
Olivia S. A hard sell for Asana.... but good article overall. 8h
Tony M. Justin, I enjoyed your article. It's essential to define the objective of the meeting upfront. In the agenda; at the start, and at the end of the meeting, to see if the objective was met. It also helps as a compass to keep people wandering off track. 8h
Andrew T. I love this, top advise for all of us chairing meetings. 8h
Ranjan P. Great Article !!! 8h
Justin E. Thanks for the advice. Although this may seem obvious, I also suggest forwarding a brief list of the topics of discussion to the attendees so everyone will be better prepared, even if that preparation took place subconsciously. 8h
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