The Whoopi Policy: How to have meetings effectively
Keeping meetings effective and concise is a great challenge to say the least, especially for those working remotely. Proof of it is the sheer number of methodologies that try to tackle this issue through different approaches, and yet there’s no consensus on the best way towards meeting efficiency.
Keeping meetings constrained is, most of all, a necessity:
- Attention span is limited: longer meetings do not necessarily mean more or better decisions since human attention span is finite. Although it’s not completely clear how long we can sustain attention, common estimates suggest the limit is around 20 minutes.
- Lack of context and information leads to poor evaluation and groupthink: when participants do not have enough information about the discussed topics they might support the ideas of those they think know better without questioning them, hence leading to groupthink and poor decision-making.
- Extending meetings doesn’t allow us to manage our agendas with confidence: ineffective time management and endless delays come as a result of unorganized meetings, affecting both your schedule and your commitment towards other events.
- Not sticking to a time slot will lead to off-topic discussions: attending timeboxed meetings will encourage participants to stay efficient with their time
We’re aware of the chaotic outcome of attending meetings in an untimely and unorganized manner, so how can we face those threats?
First, you must train participants in your organization so everyone understands the drawbacks of ineffective time management. There’s no better approach than making your peers not only agree with but also enforce best practices as a result of a true belief in their efficiency.
Second, craft a set of rules for meeting hosts to follow. Keep in mind meetings are expensive. It’s blindingly obvious all people involved aren’t undertaking other chores while attending them. This is no reason to avoid them altogether, but rather to make the most out of the allocated time by limiting meetings in terms of scope, time, and people:
- Define and state a clear goal: when calling the meeting, craft an agenda and share it with everyone else so participants know what to expect from the discussion.
- Avoid meetings if no outcome is expected: if the sole purpose is to share information, you can deliver it in an asynchronous fashion that allows recipients to read it carefully at their own pace.
- Make outcomes tangible: create plans, actions or make decisions as a result of your meeting and share the results with everyone involved.
- Invite only key participants: meetings should be attended only by those who may potentially contribute. Keep the rest informed by email or other means so they can use their time at their best convenience.
- Timebox the meetings: keep meetings limited in time and let the team decide how long those should take. This will encourage people to be mindful of their time and express their ideas concisely so there’s room for everyone to speak. Topics to be discussed within that slot should be arranged based on how much time there is for the discussion. If the timebox is no longer convenient, reschedule after discussing it with regular attendants, but always try to keep it as short as possible.
- Begin on time and encourage everyone to join in a timely manner: do not delay the start of meetings if someone comes in late, since that will affect everyone else’s schedule and lead to delays in upcoming meetings. All other meetings must follow the same rules and finish on time.
- Ask participants to stick to the agenda: if any participant starts to discuss topics that aren’t related to the meeting, remind them to focus on the agenda. If they need help, ask them to handle the issue in a different time slot. If any new ideas or proposals come up, write them down for a follow-up meeting, but don’t lose focus on the scope of the discussion.
Of course, if none of these principles were successful, you could always adopt Whoopi Golberg’s strategy, whom this article is named after, and ask everyone to “please stop talking right now”.
