Mind-numbing meetings are the quickest way to drain energy and morale from any team.
But there are steps you can take to improve productivity and ensure healthy outcomes.
Clear agendas, timely starts, and defined goals are the most commonly discussed fundamentals of meeting science, but it turns out the invite list is another key component that should be planned carefully.
When in doubt, most meeting organizers default to including everyone in order to be thorough and not leave anyone out.
That’s a mistake according to Robert Sutton, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University.
In his article “Why Big Teams Suck: Seven (Plus or Minus Two) Is the Magical Number Once Again” as highlighted by Paul Axtell in the HBR last month, he concludes that the most productive meetings have five to eight people.
The quality of the conversation begins to erode if the meeting size is too big. Here’s why:
- There’s not enough time for all to participate fully in the conversation.
- Rich debate disintegrates into shallow comments.
- People become more guarded.
- Tough topics aren’t dealt with, and instead require another offline meeting for resolution.
And the negative effects become worse as people grow weary of large meetings. There’s less preparation, participation and action.
Smaller meetings, however, allow for more candid conversations and healthy debates. Team members have more space to talk and listen.
But you need to be transparent with meeting changes going forward.
Tell your team you’re making a change. Let them know that meetings will be smaller in the interest of making them more effective.
Make sure you have the right people in the room. Your criteria for invitees should be who knows the most, who will implement, and who will be directly impacted.
Less is more when it comes to meeting size and productivity. Smaller meetings, when properly designed, can drive bigger results for your team – and your company.
Have a great week.
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