Another Meeting or a Firing Squad? Tough call…

When was the last time you were in a meeting and wondered, “Why am I even here?” Over the years I spent in the military, in corporate America and now in the work of the church, I cannot begin to count the times I have asked that question.

In reflecting on the leadership aspect of church revitalization, there is a necessary aspect of shifting culture. Organizational culture is critical and can be the wind that fills the sails or the wind that batters the ship. One of the aspects of culture includes the process of communication and specifically, the meetings.

Confession time: I am not a huge fan of meetings…at least meetings in the way most people think of them. Years ago, I was part of a church that met monthly to simply talk calendaring. This was a multi-hour gathering of every leader of every ministry to simply review the calendar, schedule new events, and adjust activities for the month. The purpose was essential but I noticed that the contribution of everyone around the table varied. Some folks were very active…particularly the leader and the staff. Others were not. They attended, sat dutifully, and left with a new piece of paper identifying what others were going to do. These meetings were intended to generate unity and excitement but left people feeling divided and despondent. Why? Because someone just gave a couple of hours of their lives to an activity that had no perceived value for them.

Some years ago, I heard a leader say that those who dislike meetings need to be part of an organization with more meetings. Not just more meetings but meetings of different types, with different people at different times. For instance, Patrick Lencioni suggested in his book, Death by Meeting (Jossey-Bass, 2004) that meetings should involve (1) the right people who are stakeholders in the discussion and (2) a defined purpose that requires the parties to discuss. Sometimes, leaders desire a plenary meeting because they are most comfortable seeing the people in the organization. Other leaders like to control their own calendar and it is simply more convenient for them to have a two-hour block set aside to do everything, even if the meeting is mostly ineffective for the participants.

What do we do?

Fundamentally, if the leader desires to create a strong organizational culture that includes meetings that are exciting and fulfilling…the leader must change. The leader must shift his or her thinking to reflect a more servant-oriented approach. In other words, convenience for the leader or preferences of the leader must take a back seat to the productivity of the people around the table. If having productive team members is important to you as a leader, here are four questions to answer to make meetings more effective.

1. Is my desire to give direction or to discuss insights? If you are giving directives and the approach is straightforward…send an email instead. What you can implement by proclamation can often be communicated in writing. If the desired actions are unclear, invite recipients to follow-up in a short meeting.
2. If collaboration is the leader’s desire, whose input is valuable; in other words, who are the stakeholders in the discussion? Some meetings have a strategic objective. Some need coordination. Some are for the purpose of a 360 degree evaluation of a completed project. Pull in those people who are the best to offer insight into the matters and hash it out.
3. Prepare, prepare, prepare. As the leader, you should spend a minute of preparation for every minute of meeting time. Know what needs to be discussed. Make sure the players are around the table. Make sure they are prepared to discuss what is on the agenda. Servant-leaders honor the time of others by preparing well.
4. Promote drama. I know this sounds counter-intuitive. After all, who wants drama at a meeting? Those who have done the hard work of building trust, communicating value for the team members and genuinely believes that there is wisdom in the counsel of man (Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, 24:6). If those around the table do not participate in the discussion, ask yourself, “Do they need to be here? Are they engaged? Why are they not weighing in?”
5. Finally, limit the agenda for greater effectiveness. Don’t schedule a meeting to discuss upper level strategy, get activity reports, address calendar items, and discuss human resource policies. Instead, have a stand-up meeting 3 times a week to give 2-minute reports on activity. Schedule to meet with the HR manager to hammer out policy matters. Bring in senior staff to formulate or evaluate strategy. Let department heads work with their teams to drill down on specifics. If it is necessary for the leader to see everyone in that department, set aside 10 minutes for a drop by “check-up and encouragement” visit. The department head can unofficially schedule the leader in for this and everyone wins!

Some may push back and suggest that they did not work for decades to climb the organizational food chain only to run around the organization accommodating others. However, if that kind of service is the culture you want to promote throughout your organization, what better way to emphasize it than to model it? I would suggest that while the approach of more and better meetings may be time consuming and a little awkward at first, over a short time they will pay off with greater productivity, more collaboration, and improved morale. In other words, this is a step toward that organizational culture you’ve dreamed of but always seemed to elude your grasp.

How does your organization currently do meetings?

Is your approach effectively delivering on the desired outcome?

What would you change immediately if it were your purview?

What will you implement immediately to make your meetings more engaging?