Managing Leadership^®

Deciding on whether to schedule yet another meeting requires analysis just as deliberately conducted as would be routinely performed for so intense a use of any other organizational asset. There are actually two levels on which to pursue this. One is related to the putative benefit of the meeting, and the other to the costs it will exact.

The key issue of benefit revolves around the type of meeting you are considering. Is it a weekly status or planning meeting? Is it project-related, or does it have a more global organizational purpose, such as preparation for an annual event related to anything from personnel assignments to a strategic review? Is it, perhaps, a crisis-reaction meeting, or does it concern something that has just come to mind – maybe something you learned at a conference or a trade show that you want to back-brief to your colleagues.

In asking what type of meeting it is that you are holding, you should force yourself to describe and justify the purpose it will fill. You want to ask yourself three questions:

• Is this meeting really necessary to advance the larger goal it is addressed to, or is there a better alternative for doing that?

• What, exactly, is it that this meeting is intended to accomplish? This doesn’t mean you predefine the specific results of the meeting – just the type; for example: distribution of information and work assignments, determination of a project’s ongoing development status or viability, or – simplest of all – generation of a decision.

• Who, specifically, needs to be at the meeting for it to accomplish that purpose? You may have an alternate list of people you would like to be there, but you must be precise about determining who must be there.

These questions bring us to the key issue of cost, which is centered on the time you are asking to be devoted to it (its planning, preparation, conduct, attendance, follow-through). Time, as you well know, is the most precious asset you have, and it is very important for you to develop an awareness of how it is used, together with the discipline to use it as well as you can within the parameters under your control.

The corollary of that is that it is also the most precious asset of your colleagues – whether peers, seniors, or juniors. You do not want to make unnecessary claims on their time, either; nor do you, to the extent that it might be possible, unwittingly place blocks of their time into the category that they are unable to control, further constraining their freedom of maneuver to contribute to the full extent of their ability in the organization’s struggle for ongoing viability.

So, do the cost/benefit analysis. Determine what place your meeting has in the organization’s operations and on the calendars of those who carry them out. Then, if you still feel you have a marketable item – make your case. Just be ready to prove it in the event. We’ll talk more about that, soon.

—

Today’s tip: It’s that time of year: performance review time. But before you start calling meetings to try to sort out how you will handle it this season, or even to offer the reviews to your juniors, visit Jared Sandberg‘s latest Cubicle Culture column in the WSJ for a good overview of current issues related to this challenging topic.

—

Be sure not to miss any of the posts in this series!

1. Collaboration jams
2. The swaying sword of Damocles
3. Smoke-filled rooms
4. Meetings – what are they all about?
5. How about we get together sometime?
6. Can we fit this in somewhere?
7. Making your meeting
8. Managing your meeting
9. Are you sure we were at the same meeting?

—

If you have enjoyed this post, please do join us by using the subscription links just below or at the top right of this page. And thanks – we look forward to your being aboard!

Technorati Tags: meeting, analysis, organization, asset, project, purpose, strategic review, crisis, goal, information, discipline, cost/benefit analysis, performance review, Jared Sandberg, WSJ