Effective Meetings - Arnold's Story
Case Study - Before
Arnold is a senior manager and has monthly meetings with various staff across his organisation. The meetings are not structured and have largely been seen as an opportunity for a cup of tea and a gossip. When meetings do finally start they go off topic very quickly and eat up a considerable amount of time. Some meeting attendees are very dominant and are determined to get their own way on a decision and the quieter attendees rarely speak up to counter their arguments. Arnold is concerned that not only are the team meetings becoming a huge waste of time but often the agreed actions have not been well thought out.
After attending our Effective Meeting's training, Arnold soon realised he needed to make considerable changes to the meeting process. As the Chair he actually had control and therefore he could enforce change.
Case Study - After
Arnold used ground rules at the very start of his next meeting. This ensured that attendees could not go off topic and that only one person should speak at a time. Whilst he did have some resistance at the start eventually the group accepted why change was needed. His meetings had a clear set of objectives and therefore each meeting had a particular purpose. He used facilitation techniques such as fishbone and affinity diagrams, this allowed the group to explore a range of problem solving options. He designed processes for engagement which allowed introverted and extroverted attendees to have the same level of contribution which created a more relaxed atmosphere. Decision making was made via consensus which gave the group a greater feeling of ownership.
Benefits
Arnold was able to considerably improve the effectiveness of his meeting. They were more focussed on delivering an actual outcome, the level of input was greater and the discussion were guided yet constructive. This also saved the organisation a fair amount of time. Attendees felt central to the process and their input was being valued.
The course
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