Handling a meeting at work .By Professor Elias Chakabwata (ITI Executive President)
Meetings are carried out at work for different reasons .These reasons include :
1.Updating workers on the new developments.
2.Discussing and reviewing performance of the workers.
3.Preparing for a major upcoming event
4.For feedback purposes .
5.For staff training .
6.For announcements.
The above list is not exhaustive .There are several reasons why meetings are held at work.
As you prepare for the meeting attend to the following questions :
1 .Agenda – why are you calling for the meeting ?
2.Composition- who is to attend?
3.What is the meeting intending to achieve ?
4.How will you measure whether the meeting was successful or not ?
5.Do the people coming for the meeting have power to make decisions or they have to go back and make consultations ?
6.How will you handle a potentially explosive situation ?
7.Have you done a mental walk of the meeting imagining possible scenarios and how you may respond ?
8.Do you have any deadlines for the assignments that will be allocated to people ?
9.Is the meeting agenda a one man design or there are others who have input their own ideas to assist making the meeting productive ?
10.Was the agenda circulated well in advance to allow people to process issues on the agenda?
As you get ready for the meeting you may need to :
1 .Deal with your own emotions from past hurts or betrayals .If you don’t do so your judgement will be clouded and the meeting may turn out to be a boring monologue.
2.Put on your thinking caps.Be ready to engage during the meeting .
3.Listen as people make submissions .Do not interject or dismiss their thoughts as nonsensical !
4.Make an effort to get those who may be quiet to make their contributions as well .
5 .Sometimes there are two or more people who may try to dominate the discussion as the meeting progresses ,politely ask others to make contributions as well.
6.Use non- verbal communication eg nodding your head to show you are following the ideas being shared.
7.Make sure every resolution is clearly captured by the secretary .
8.Put names and dates against assignments that may need to be done .
9 .Make sure the assignments are clear and they meet the SMART criteria .Specific .Measurable.Achievable.Results based and Time framed .
10.In the event that someone wants to digress from the agenda ,take charge and explain that the point or points they are raising are important .It can be attended to in the next meeting or in the any other business session (AOB).
Those attending a meeting should be :
1 .Ready to express their opinions .
2.Have a notebook to take down personal notes even though the secretary may be taking down the notes for the whole proceedings .
3.Be time conscious .
4.Communicate if you are late for the meeting .Try to send the message to the chair person at least 15 minutes before the meeting starts .This shows that you are respecting the meeting and the other people attending it .
As the meeting closes the Chair or the secretary should read out the resolutions.There is need to announce the date for the next meeting if it is already known.
The writer Professor Elias Chakabwata is an organizational growth and leadership guru .He trains and provides consultancy services to organizations and individuals.He can be contacted on 0732288687.
