Meeting Madness?

Tips & Tools to run meetings that are not a waste of time

By: Danielle Giannone

In this article, I will share tips and tools to help you run more effective meetings that are not a waste of time.

Did you know that organizations spend roughly 15% of their time in meetings, with surveys showing that 71% of those meetings are considered unproductive and 65% of employees feel that meetings prevent them from completing their work? This equates to an estimated $37 billion lost each year to unproductive meetings.*

So how do you ensure a meeting is necessary?

The best question to ask yourself is: 'does this meeting move our organization or team forward toward our goals?' If so, then it's worth it. If not, ask yourself 'what is the goal of the meeting and can it be achieved another way?'

GRPI tool for Team Effectiveness

One of the most important tools I recommend teams use to stop the meeting madness and ensure they are making the most of every meeting is the GRPI tool for Team Effectiveness first introduced in 1972 by Richard Beckhard.  The framework has stood the test of time and is used by many organizations, consultants and coaches today for two main reasons: it’s simple and it works. 

The GRPI is designed to make us more effective teams by focusing on the most important interrelated aspects of teamwork which are: GOALS, ROLES, PROCESS, and INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.

We use the model to set up work effectively (meetings, projects, etc), assess team effectiveness while we are working together, and to debrief overall performance at the end. This tool can ensure we get the most out of meetings and here's how:

Goals:  (WHY) Questions: What are we trying to accomplish?  Are the goals clear? How will we know if we achieved the goal? Are we all committed to achieving these goals? How do we know? 

Roles: (WHO)  Questions: Are we clear on what our individual responsibilities are to get to the goal?  Are the right people in the right roles? Are the right people in the room?  Who is the decision maker?

Process: (HOW) Questions: Do we take the time to examine our process of how we work together? Can we work better to accomplish the goals? Do we simplify vs overcomplicate the work? Does the agenda support the goals? Are we allocating our time based on what is most important? 

Interpersonal Relationships Questions: How well do we communicate? Do we address conflict openly? Is there a high level of trust and openness on the team? 

Assessment Tool: 1-5 Finger Shoot

Using the finger-shoot method, teams can check in on these areas to get a quick assessment and see where people are at.   In your next meeting, ask one of the above questions then have the team rate how they think they did on a scale of 1-5, with 5 equating to excellent (or strongly agree), 4 is good, 3 is neutral (it’s basically a non answer), 2 is fair, and 1 is poor (or strongly disagree.)

1-5 (no 3's) Finger Shoots help build trust and openness within a team (Interpersonal Relationships) by making the opinions of all individuals known.  Foster healthy conflict by:

1. Stating the question and what the 1-5 scale means clearly

2. Ensure all scores are shared at the same time to avoid group think

3. Ask a mix of individuals and high/low scores to share their thoughts

4. Hold individuals accountable to being specific and helpful when giving feedback by providing a recommendation on how the team can improve or get to a 5

Tips for Running Meetings that are NOT a Waste of Time 

• Agendas for all meetings - Push back and don’t attend a meeting without an agenda. 

  
  

• Agendas sent out in advance -   If you are leading the meeting, send it out in advance and ask for commitment from all invited to come prepared.  If you are a participant and don’t have an agenda, request it! 

• Use the GRPI framework for the layout of the Agenda: 

  
  

  • Goals:  why are you having the meeting?  Decisions that will be made and work that will be completed should be named in the goals.  If you can’t clearly state the goal and how you will measure if the meeting is successful, you probably shouldn't be having the meeting!  

    
    

  • Roles defined:  who is doing what to make sure you achieve the goals of the meeting?  Who is the facilitator, time keeper, note taker?  Is there a decision maker in the room? Be very specific as to why attendees are there and what is expected from them such as input, report outs etc.

    
    

  • Process:  Timing and structure of the agenda should lead to accomplishing the goals of the meeting. Ensure that any follow up actions from the meeting have a clear owner and deadline. (who, what and when) 

    
    

• Start the Meeting w/Finger Shoot on Goals & Roles of the meeting -Are they clear?  How will we know we achieved the goals? Is everyone clear on what their responsibility to help achieve the goal?  

  
  

• For recurring meetings, start with the follow up from the previous meeting to drive accountability  

  
  

• Add Parking Lot for things that are off topic but need follow up with who, what, when

• End the Meeting w/GRPI finger shoot - Did we accomplish the goals?  What can we improve for next time? 

Final thoughts

Most people do not want their time wasted and most people who waste other people’s time are not aware they are doing it. The biggest opportunity we have is to be open, direct and helpful when it comes to assessing our collective work.  

Let’s support, challenge and help each other by ensuring our time is spent towards actions and effort that drives results. If there is opportunity to improve, let’s call it out with recommendations on how to improve.  

*Statistics Source: Zippia. “28+ Incredible Meeting Statistics [2023]: Virtual, Zoom, In-person Meetings and Productivity” Zippia.com. Feb 14, 2023, https://www.zippia.com/advice/meeting-statistics/