Getting Out of a Meeting

I was horrified to see a post on LinkedIn - "How to Get Out of Unnecessary Meetings". I might have been more horrified over who liked the post, but it got me thinking before I could start reading.

Regardless, don't try to get out of any meeting, necessary or otherwise - try to get SOMETHING out of every meeting. If you go into a meeting (or worse, every meeting) with the attitude "I wish I wasn't here", then you may as well not be, because you have no intention of contributing or listening.

If you go into a meeting with an open mind & a question in your heart "what can I get out of this?", then you will always find something. At the least, you will walk away thinking "if I have to organise a meeting with those people, I need a strong agenda to keep people on track & awake", or "the next time that person organises, I'm going to ask if they'd like me to chair the meeting".

Even a "necessary" meeting should not end with "I'm glad that's done with", because there should be a review in your head. Did you achieve what was necessary today? Can you get more done next time? Did people listen to you? Did you listen to everyone fairly? Who should have been there who could contribute? Who didn't need to be there? How can you better serve those people with minutes?

There is no such thing as a perfect meeting, any more than there is a meeting from which you can get nothing at all. It always comes down to the mind-set & the frame of mind (which are two very different things) - you have to want to get something out of every meeting, & you have to practice doing it.

Meetings don't even have to be that formal business context with a client or as part of a process. A good manager has a chat with team members with an agenda at least in their mind (all managers' time is precious), so the employee should have an agenda as well - use the opportunity to bring things to the fore. A one-on-one meeting is rarely a one-way conversation - even the most intense kind, disciplinary issues, are an opportunity for the employee to explain themselves before the manager has to escalate to a broader audience.

Anyone whose professional career is built around networking - consultants & salespeople, in particular - know the importance of having something in mind every time they meet with someone or get an unexpected opportunity to meet with someone. It's a not-exactly-hidden agenda that ensures that they get something out of every conversation, every greeting - even if it's only "remember me later when I might want to discuss an opportunity".

There, of course, is the crux of getting something out of a meeting. Everyone who attends the meeting with you will remember you. It's your chance to shine, to show what you can contribute to the project or the company, & how you can be looked upon as a team player.

It's your choice to take something away from every meeting for your benefit, but only through your efforts will others take something away from the meeting to your benefit.