Management Resources: Cut The Waste Out Of Meetings

We complain about time-wasting meetings, but few of us seriously think of cutting them out. We often attend them like lemmings headed for a high cliff.

It's not uncommon for executives to devote more than 70 percent of their day to meetings. A survey done by Heldrick & Struggles, a consulting firm in Chicago, found that 18 percent of CEOs spend more than 30 hours a week in meetings. An additional 25 percent devote 20 to 29 hours weekly to meetings.

Many of those meetings are unproductive. According to a survey by the Wharton Center for Applied Research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, senior managers reported that only 58 percent of their meetings were productive and that 22 percent of the rest could have been handled more efficiently by phone or a memo.

Unproductive meetings drain people's enthusiasm, vigor, and effectiveness. If you misuse people's time in meetings that accomplish little, people will find boundless excuses to stop being involved in church affairs.

Meetings can be productive, however, if they're properly organized and managed with skill. They can be a great tool for disseminating information and generating feedback. And they can foster a feeling of camaraderie that can help launch a new project, such as a capital-building campaign or new daycare ministry.

Why Meetings Fail
Meetings that seem to go nowhere and waste everyone's time often suffer from:

Too many people. Without strong leadership and an agenda, meetings can wander. But too many participants can also extend a meeting's discussion and turn it into a meandering time-waster.

A Well-Run Congregational Meeting

A congregational meeting can be a volcanic free-for-all or an endless river of talk. For a more orderly event, include these five ingredients:

1. Communication. One or two weeks prior to the meeting, send a letter to every member of the congregation, telling the specifics of the meeting: the date, the start and end time, the location, and the purpose. Include a brief overview of the subject matter. Timing is critical here; send the letter too soon, and people may forget about the meeting. Send it too late, and people may have already made other plans.

2. Preparation. "Whoever is conducting a meeting should have a clear list of all pertinent issues that need to be discussed in the meeting," says Richard Turney, pastor of Rest Haven Baptist Church in Alcoa, Tennessee. He also suggests that the issues be grounded in the Bible, not personal opinion. "If the meeting leader does not stick to the Bible for foundation and reference, he or she will likely lose control of the meeting at some point," he says.

3. Time management. Don't wait till everyone's seated before starting the meeting, and don't review what you've already covered for latecomers. Starting meetings on time shows everyone the importance of promptness. Ending them on time forces leaders to be prepared and to keep the discussion on track.

4. Orderly procedure. Robert's Rules of Order, used by church leaders for years, is a step-by-step guide on how to run an effective, orderly, balanced meeting. For example, it tells how to address the committee chair rather than an individual during a discussion to avoid getting into personal disputes.

5. Model behavior. The leader of a meeting may only ask of people what he or she is willing personally to do. As Proverbs 14:23 says: "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." A congregational meeting will likely go more smoothly if led by a leader who walks his talk.

By Rhonda Campbell, a freelance writer living in Bensalem, Pennsylvania

For example, a pastor who called people together to discuss an interdenominational effort to minister to the homeless was certain that the topic would command everyone's attention. Within minutes, however, the 18 people at the meeting drifted into an aimless, 90-minute discussion about who should speak at an upcoming conference. The pastor estimated the cost of the discussion, in terms of everyone's time, came to more than $500.

An unclear purpose. The purpose of some meetings is so vague that they probably shouldn't have been called in the first place. If you want people's advice on setting up a new youth program, for example, perhaps it would be more productive to call or e-mail each person rather than commit everyone to a discussion that may or may not yield what you need.

Unnecessary invites. You may not have to attend every meeting that colleagues schedule just because they ask you to come. Ask the convener why you're being included to help you determine if you really need to be there. If your input is needed, perhaps you could meet briefly with the convener prior to the meeting and give him/her the necessary information. The same holds true for your colleagues, whose presence may not be necessary at a meeting.

Make the Most of Meetings
To make the most of everyone's time at a meeting, consider these suggestions:

1. Value everyone's time. Don't expect people to sit through a long meeting if their expertise is needed on only one item of the agenda. Give them the option to attend only that part of the meeting that applies to them.

2. Stay on track. If a meeting meanders into a discussion that's not on the agenda, refocus the discussion by suggesting something like, "In the 15 minutes that remain, let's review where we are on the agenda and see if we can quickly work through the rest of the items." If this doesn't work, the only solution may be to end the meeting on time and schedule another meeting. Prior to the next meeting, you could meet privately with individuals who tend to push discussions off track to suggest how they can help you keep a meeting on course.

3. Set an example. If people want you to come to a roundtable discussion to help them develop solutions to a problem, say you'll be happy to come after they've discussed the problem and come up with specific alternatives for your consideration. Then discuss only those alternatives at the meeting.

4. Talk up a good one. If you attend a well-managed meeting, make a point to commend the person who led the meeting, either during or immediately after the meeting. Such recognition could encourage less-efficient colleagues to follow the example.

5. Brush up on meeting skills. Conducting a proper meeting requires management skills, such as conducting a business meeting according to Roger's Rules of Order, or guiding discussion according to specific agenda items. Management skills can be learned or strengthened at seminars offered by organizations such as Skillpath Seminars (800-873-7545), Leadership Network (800-765-5323), Careertrack (800-488-0914), INJOY (800-249-5598), or Blanchard Training & Development (800-728-6000).

Kent R. Davies is a freelance writer living in Anacortes, Washington. He has taught business management at Central Washington University-Lynnwood and the University of Puget Sound-Seattle.

15 Ways to Make a Conference Work for You

These simple guidelines can help you get the most out of your next conference:

1. Decide whom you should contact at the conference and make arrangements beforehand when and where to meet them.

2. Well before the conference, study its agenda to decide which workshops and events will be most beneficial to you. If you have questions about what's offered, call the conference presenters for clarification.

3. If two seminars that you're interested in are given at the same time, offer to cover one while a colleague covers the other. Swap notes and handouts with each other after the presentation.

4. Sit toward the back if you're unsure about a workshop. If it isn't what you expected, you can slip out without disrupting anyone.

5. Scan conference materials quickly and eliminate what you know you won't use. Ditto for all those business cards and brochures forced on you.

6. Choose a slow time during the convention to stroll through the exhibit area. Vendors will have more time then to demonstrate their products and answer your questions.

7. Wear comfortable but professional clothing and shoes. Leave heavy briefcases and overcoats in your room. The more comfortable you are, the more professional you can be with colleagues.

8. Gracefully bow out of lengthy, unproductive conversations as well as protracted diatribes about controversial subjects. Plead another appointment if necessary.

10. Be flexible. Allow enough time to develop relationships with new people you meet. Perhaps you can help each other with a problem that you began sharing in a workshop.

11. Write down the names of the key people you meet and briefly note what you discussed. The notes could come in mighty handy a month later if you need to contact one of those people.

12. Realize that what's off the agenda at a conference may be as important as what's on it. Scott Heitschusen, associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Orlando, Florida, says one of the best things about one of the conferences he attends is worshiping at nearby churches. "It is a great time for pastors to be able to worship in the pews and be ministered to through the sermon and liturgy," Heitschusen says. "I leave refreshed and reminded that through all the stresses and heartaches I need to hear God's love for me."

13. Treat a conference as an extended break from work. As Rick Pittenger, pastor at Vincent United Methodist Church in Minot, North Dakota, says, "Make a commitment to be there for the entire event, or don't come. Leave your cellular phone, pager, and paperwork home."

14. Make an effort to meet new people. "Some of my most interesting and inspiring discussions take place in the hallways between seminars," Pittenger says.

15. Review your notes. What you take home from a conference may be just as critical as what you absorbed at it. "For all the inspiration conferences generate on filing illustrations, contacting key people, and writing specific action plans, little is changed unless you sit down and process the information," says John Hampton, pulpit minister at First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio.

by Kent R. Davies

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today International/Your Church Magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail yceditor@yourchurch.net.
January/February 1999, Vol.45, No. 1, Page 72