1. Meetings and Briefings
By Mark Gillan

2. Effective use of meetings and briefings
Not managed correctly can waste time
Meetings and briefings account for a large portion of a manager’s time
Estimates suggest 40% of a middle manager’s time is spent in meetings
The estimate of time spent in meetings rises for senior managers to about 70%
Behaviours can help or hinder the progress of meetings and briefings
Meetings are held for various reasons within the majority of organisations
Some meetings are held on a regular basis
Other meetings might be for specific projects
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3. Purpose of meetings Opportunities for parties to exchange information
To solve problems or develop ideas
To allow people to contribute their views and ideas
To learn from each other
Can be motivational and help the development of staff
Provide people an opportunity to interact and possibly foster team spirit
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4. Purpose of briefings A special form of meeting
Usually delivered by managers
Information concisely delivered
Normally related to current developments, plans or policies within an organisation
To provide information to those present and to ensure queries are clarified to reinforce understanding
Not an arena for debate or for challenging information
Role of the person delivering the briefing is to ensure sufficient information is provided and to agree to seek further information if required with time to report back in the future
Regular briefings by managers and supervisors help to reinforce their position within a team
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5. Meetings are used for: Planning Decision Making Problem Solving
Team Development
Staff involvement
Generating ideas and innovation
Examining progress
Exchanging information
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6. Exercise
Choose an organisation you are familiar and identify the following:
Types of meeting held
Frequency, length, attendees
Particular points making the meeting effective or ineffective
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7. Exercise feedback
Most organisations will have a wide variety of meetings, both formal and informal. They can be an expensive activity for organisations if they are not managed effectively
Common for routine daily, weekly of monthly meetings that are nothing more than a chatting session
Can be useful for bonding but also means other activities might not be done
Difficult for those involved to question the need for the meeting if they are instructed to attend and just do so without passing comment
Senior management and those leading the meetings should carefully analyse the need for meetings, questioning who really needs to be involved, the frequency and how productive the meetings actually are in reality without blame
A lot to consider prior to a meeting, during and following on from a meeting
Might be a need to clarify exactly what the meeting will be about (set an agenda), why people must attend, preparation, what time and place
During the meeting, it is best to have a structured method for examining the issues and to develop an action plan
An agenda can assist but other tools can be useful, such as the use of ‘Post It’ notes to allow ideas and ensure everyone not only has input but to allow for ideas / discussion points to be plotted
After the meeting, minutes and possible action points from the discussions can be addressed
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8. Seven Deadly Sins of Meetings
James Noon in his book ‘A’ Time, identifies the following 7 deadly sins of meetings
* James Noon, ‘A’ Time: Busy Manager’s Action Plan for Effective Self Management (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1985)
Meetings without purpose
Meetings with too many attendees
Lack of agenda or poor agendas
People unprepared for meetings
Poor timekeeping of meetings
Chairperson, if there is one, keeps poor control of the meeting
Unclear action requirements after the meeting
These seven deadly sins of meetings can be corrected by effective planning and leading of meetings as well as coordinated action minutes
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9. Leading Meetings
Role of the person leading the meeting to ensure constructive behaviours are encouraged and counter-productive behaviours are dealt with
The Chair or Convener
Difficult task
Resolving conflict between parties or dealing with aggression
Useful for every organisation to develop a set of rules for conduct at meetings to which The Chair can refer
Easier for The Chair to establish authority and maintain order if rules are clear for all
Meetings should be followed up with minutes, distributed, checked and signed off at the following meeting with amendments
Monitor progress of actions and refer to minutes
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10. Mullins’ Behaviours Theories
Mullins (2004), based upon the work of the National Training Laboratory in Washington DC, identifies the following set of behaviours
Can allow an ‘interaction analysis’ of meetings
Mullins highlights that particular behaviours help those involved progress the particular tasks … task behaviours
Others help to build relationships … team behaviours
Mullins also identifies behaviours that can interfere with the progress of the team
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11. Task Related Behaviours
Initiating – making proposals, suggestions or putting ideas forward
Information or Opinion Seeking – looking for facts, suggestions or group concerns
Information or Opinion Giving – offering facts, opinions or stating group concerns
Clarifying or Elaborating – interpretation, clearing up confusion, giving examples
Summarising – restating outcomes of discussions, offering conclusions or decisions for the group to accept or reject
Consensus Testing – evaluating and examining progress by exploring how much might mean agreement
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12. Group Building Behaviours
Encouraging – responding in a friendly manner to the ideas and suggestions of others, giving others a clear opportunity for recognition
Expressing Group Feelings – sending moods and feelings within the group, openly discussing the feelings and moods of the group
Harmonising – attempting to resolve differences by helping others to explore possible resolution of differences in a constructive manner
Compromising – admitting error or seeking a compromise when facing disagreement
Gatekeeping – attempting to maintain communication between different parties, seeking to involve everyone, suggesting methods to allow everyone to explore issues, seeking to establish ‘rules of conduct’
Setting Standards – defining standards for the group to achieve, applying standards in the evaluation of the function and production of the group
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13. Exercise
There are many counter-productive behaviours that can be exhibited at meetings. Identify examples of behaviour types that may be counter- productive to effective meetings
Some thoughts of such counter-productive behaviours:
Talking over others
Not listening to each other
Lack of sharing or contributing to concerns – possibly sabotage plans resulting from the meeting
Argumentative and non-constructive discussion being sought
Digressing from the main subject
Not focusing upon the meeting or having private conversations
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14. Exercise
Working with others or alone – develop a set of rules that an organisation could adopt for meetings
Example of rules might be:
Adhere to the agenda / topic under discussion
Arrive on time / finish on time
Everyone participates but only one person talking at a time
Be honest, positive and pay attention
Listen to each other, try to understand others
No personal conversations, share discussions via the convener
Criticism must only be constructive and useful
Keep the tone positive
Do not use sarcasm or cynical remarks
Decisions are agreed together
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15. Useful information
Various websites and books offering advice related to meetings and briefings
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