Why You Should Never Attend a Meeting Without an Agenda
While you may dream of eliminating them from your work schedule, meetings do serve their purpose, so long as they meet certain criteria. A well-planned meeting can identify project goals, outline responsibilities, and generate value-added discussion. Without planning, though, an aimless meeting can suck the motivation out of even the most talented team.
No matter your seniority level, you should feel empowered to set the expectation that meetings you attend include an agenda. If you need help articulating the importance of this step, consider the far-reaching benefits of advance meeting preparation.
1. An Agenda Sets the Intention
Gathering a group of people simply because it’s Tuesday at 2 p.m. is nothing short of wasteful. Recurring meetings can be the cockroach of work culture, inciting audible complaints of “Again?” when the calendar notification chimes. The problem compounds when the team assembles around the conference table for a 60-minute aimless conversation resulting in no progress.
When project leaders establish a meeting agenda, they’re forced to identify the reason a gathering is essential. The best agendas list talking points, topics, ongoing issues, and future-state possibilities. Efficient agendas also include a timestamp for topic areas. This tactic helps ensure that each line item is addressed and reduces the likelihood of one topic monopolizing the entire meeting.
2. Goals, Action Items, and Deadlines Come to the Forefront
An agenda forces clarity in the best way. In articulating the reason for the meeting, top leaders often utilize a meeting template to guide their structure. Templates take the pressure off the meeting organizer by providing a place for key topics essential for a productive conversation.
Agendas may include space for goals, discussion items, decisions, and ongoing issues. When topics are covered, meeting leads can make note of the meetings’ outcome. These notes can drive the meeting minutes and any assignments or deadlines set. The enforced structure sets the expectation for advance planning and outcomes-based conversations.
3. The Right People Are Involved From the Outset
Collaboration software makes it easy to add anyone to a meeting invite, but over-inviting is an instant productivity killer. Consider management best practices that prioritize inviting only the essential colleagues to a meeting. Focus on subject matter experts, those with decision-making authority, or individuals who will be tasked with assignments. Depending on your meeting need, different employee types will be essential for a project meeting.
If you’re having trouble deciding whom to invite, review your meeting goals and who is needed to achieve them. Generally, the most productive meetings have a limited number of people. Groups of eight or less can easily collaborate and debate issues with more air space in which to contribute. Share meeting minutes with attendees and non-attending stakeholders to bring everyone up to speed without monopolizing their time.
4. Time Is Used More Efficiently
An hour at work can go by at lightning speed, so leveraging the opportunity for collaboration is essential. Agenda-led meetings require advance preparation by their organizers, which can drive efficiency during your time together.
The most productive meetings start well before the meeting begins, through advanced agenda and document sharing. Use your organizations’ collaboration software to share and retain project documentation. Provide access to team members to view or edit key documents so everyone is engaged.
Attendees can review documents essential for discussions beforehand, potentially eliminating orientating conversations at the meeting’s start. Colleagues arrive informed and with ideas in tow for the organizational challenges that need to be solved. Plan to upload project decisions and notes to the same collaboration portal for later reference and updates.
5. Agendas Indicate Mutual Respect
Busy leaders may skip meeting agendas, citing seniority or packed schedules as the reason for this neglect. Old-school work cultures may further facilitate this bad habit, but there’s no reason to put up with it forever. Take charge of your time by requesting a meeting agenda for the meetings you’re invited to. If your request is ignored or brushed off, offer to draft one or provide a template. Face this challenge through the lens of helpfulness, as your efforts could prompt improved organization and mutual respect.
When it comes down to it, that’s what it’s all about: respect. Meeting agendas respect colleagues’ time, project needs, and organizational goals. When colleagues consciously consider the hourly rate of attendees’ time, they’re more likely to use it wisely. Acknowledge the need for collaboration and be mindful of the time required.
If meetings become overwhelming, it can be hard to find time to complete the daily tasks associated with one’s job. Elevate concerns about overloaded schedules and the time needed for output, especially when you feel internal pressure rising.
Championing a Work Culture that Values Meeting Agendas
If your organization is guilty of over-scheduling mismanaged meetings, it may be time to implement some changes and establish boundaries. Unfortunately, organizational change is hard to implement and even harder to maintain.
Before you set out to improve workplace productivity and morale, consider the “What’s in it for me?” factor. When you show your colleagues and leaders the benefits of well-drafted meeting agendas, soon you’ll be the office hero.