This type of employee is not unusual and if not handled appropriately it can be a deterrent for others to speak in the meeting. I usually have some formality with my meetings. The Chair calls on people when they have something to say. Importance to any meeting is to stay on task. If the contributor is off task then I will call their attention to being off subject and explain we will stay on topic for the sake of the meeting time management to accomplish set goals. If they would like to put it on a future agenda or even discuss it with me after the meeting I will be available.
When you have heard enough from an employee and you get the idea it important to move on by just explaining we have a time schedule for the meeting and we need to hear from others. (Thank you for your input)
Yes I agree. Sticking to an agenda and staying within the allotted time slot can be challenging. It is especially difficult when meeting participants desire to share personal stories. I becomes difficult to give each member respect and allow them time to voice their position and know when it is time to cut them off. Tact is critical.
One on the hardest task for a meeting leader is to keep everyone on task and not let them get side tracked. I am Chair of a large Commissioner group for College Accreditation. There are 15 members. I know what it is like to keep people on track. But! It can be done. It takes a chair that can recognize the group is off task and point it our and move back to the point.
I think the hardest thing to control is whom to invite to a meeting. This is critical, because if you invite too many people, or the wrong ones it is much more difficult to accomplish your agenda and/or goals. Yet, to have differing opinions it is sometimes necessary to invite people who you would not think should be involved.
Stakeholders are the main attendees to a meeting for importance in content. People attending who are in the no need to know category usually would not be invited. If people are clear you are respecting their time they will be appreciative of this policy.
I think one of the hardest tasks is to underestimate the time to accomplish the tasks in the meeting. As an overachiever, it is easy to "bite off" too much and try to pack in too many items on the agenda. One has to learn to back off a bit and allow time to share information, discuss and resolve the issues. Often these tasks take longer than you would expect.
Well organzied meetings with expectations from the meeting being communicated before the actual meeting starts help to acheive the best results. This way when the meeting is in progress and some members begin to get off track you can pull them back to the agreed upon expectations for the meeting and meeting the goals. If you are the leader it is you they depend on with keeping on track.
It great to prioritize your agenda. Meeting stakeholders need to know the expectations of the meeting. As a leader you will need to keep everyone on track. If you can accomplish this your meetings will be fruitful with accomplished agendas.
I personally think the hardest thing to accomplish is staying on the agenda and the time alloted. Some meetings tend to get off topic and start talking about topics not on the agenda. This seems to be the number one reasons that make the attendees lose focus and the purpose and accomplishments of the meeting.
Agenda preparing is all about communicating the expectations of the meeting. People getting off task need to be brought back on point. This is the leader's responsibility. Leadership is key to good meeting. If agenda's are not open ended you can save time. If the meeting is for brainstorming you can even guide this type of deliberation.
The first is the topic and how to present it to the group. Second, I my personal opinion and experiences are keeping the meeting on topic and following. I think it is good to assign a time keeper and a facilitator; both of them need to be two different people. In most cases you have to tell the person/persons we will take that topic off-line, and continue with the meeting topic(s).
People definitely appreciate your leadership to keep people on task. You will accomplish your goals and theirs by keeping to the task at hand. Your technique to take anything outside of that outside this forum is a kind way of not having anyone feel what they had to say was not important.
Personally, I have found it most difficult to overcome my fears of just leading a meeting, especially with colleagues who have more credentials that I have, and maintaining a cool, calm, and collected demeanor if there is conflict, as well as addressing "What If" and on-the-fly questions that catch me off guard.
I have recently been working on my self-esteem because I do not think it is the skills I am lacking, but trust in myself. I have been working with my direct supervisor to get his feedback and for him to share his stories of overcoming similar hurdles.
I enrolled in this CEE course as a way to refresh the things I alread knew, and to also obtain some helpful job aids.
The preparation phase for managing a meeting is in fact the most critical, and the more I know my business inside and out, the easier it is for me to maintain my cool and handle all of the things that happen throughout the meeting.
I have also enrolled in a "Toastmaster's" course to help me get even more comfortable with being a leader in the public forums and learning how to communicate more effectively in group settings to further establish my credibility as an effective meeting leader.
Hi Gary,
You are absolutely right, structure has a calming effect. I was also told that too much structure can be off-putting in certain types of meetings as well. Do you have any advice about how to handle smaller meetings like: 3 or 4 people, when it is about a project that an executive has asked to be done, and a lower level manager is being tasked with. How does the lower level manager best handle those "fear" moments of how to interact with the executive member(s)?
I look at small meetings with the expectation of having more interaction. When you have the privilege to work with a few employees it is a great time to transfer ownership of the projects and goals in hand. My approach is two fold. One is to communicate my agenda and two is to listen to advise from my employees.
I look at small meetings with the expectation of having more interaction. When you have the privilege to work with a few employees it is a great time to transfer ownership of the projects and goals in hand. My approach is two fold. One is to communicate my agenda and two is to listen to advise from my employees.
Through my life I have had similar thoughts about running meetings when I was younger. But! I would tell you should not worry. What is important is that you become a great facilitator of the meeting. Running a meeting is a skill. Each meeting should specific goals and expectations. It is a must to communicate these to the participants and lead them to this outcome.
I agree with this. Because I hold regular weekly meetings, even though there is an agenda sometimes members come with their own agendas. It can sometimes be a challenge keeping everyone on task. I appreciate that all members feel safe, but it can also be a detriment in that meetings take longer than then should.
Everyone seems to have their own agenda's. Good leadership is to organize and guide the meeting in a way the ownership by all leads to a unified agreement. You can do this through establishing a unified mission and purpose.
In preparing for a meeting, the hardest task is to ensure that the subject matter in the agenda is accurate and pointed. Topics discussed must be relevent to the needs of the group or company and necessary to require a meeting. The time set for the meeting must be adequate to resolve any issues or plan future tasks.
