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| Photo by thinkpanama |
The past 2 days were one of the most productive meetings that I have attended for some time. Part of it was because some of us have read some principles from the Modern Meeting. Here are 3 points on why I think it was a successful time.
1) The leader had a decision that we could discuss and implement.
Modern meetings are more effective when a decision is the starting point to either debate or implement. Instead of spending hours brainstorming and evaluating different decisions, a decision was made and the team had something to refine, debate, and/or implement.
2) We had group work sessions
Instead of attacking an issue with the whole team, the leader split the group into group work sessions. It was not a "meeting" but a time where team members were "making hay" (i.e. getting work done) along side each other. As a result we had a plan and action points to present and confirm in the next block of meetings.
3) We had a distinct time for brainstorm
Although usually recommended for those who are not directly responsible for the outcomes of suggestions coming out of a brainstorm, it was great to have a time where there was freedom to think through what our team can do. It involves creativity and dreaming which was a welcome break from the other agenda items. I think this brainstorm session worked because participants knew that just because they thought of something, it didn't mean that they were going to tasked to do it. There is freedom when that environment is established for creative and helpful brainstorm.
There are other things that were implemented and other things we could improve on, but I was greatly encouraged by the new approach to meetings. What are some meeting tips that you recommend that has helped meetings you attend to be highly effective?
