As virtual meetings continue to become more and more prevalent, and are more challenging than in-person meetings in terms of delivering value to each and every meeting attendee, I decided it was time to offer my thoughts around how to avoid leading or attending virtual meeting disasters.
In terms of leading a virtual meeting best practices I would offer the following:
- Have an agenda and goals for each virtual meeting, even if it is only a conference call, and share the agenda and goals with all meeting attendees prior to the meeting.
- Communicate to those you are inviting to a virtual meeting why they are invited- attendees need to have an incentive to listen, engage, and not multi-task during a meeting.
- If a virtual meeting’s agenda involves making an important decision or is focused on resolving a meaningful issue, then add video to the meeting whenever possible, non-verbal gestures matter and accountability is often “improved” with eye contact even if it is just virtual eye contact.
- Use a tool that allows you to track attendee attentiveness, and learn know how people can “get around” this functionality. If someone uses multiple monitors in general, ensure they have all but one monitor off during your meeting.
- If you have colleagues that you would like to be “in the loop” regarding what takes place at a meeting then record the meeting and share it with them if you or these colleagues will not benefit from them actively participating in the meeting.
- Do not invite people to virtual meetings only as a CYA (cover your backside). This is not a good use of anyone’s time, and if you need to CYA with any degree of frequency then you need to look into how to improve your work environment.
In terms of best practices in avoiding being an attendee at a virtual meeting that does not offer you the ROI you deserve for your time:
- Strictly control who has the ability to add meetings to your calendar, and also manage who has visibility to your calendar. Doing so will mitigate your
risk in being dragged into meetings which offer you and your employer no value. - Don’t be afraid to decline a virtual meeting request. If you do not value you time your colleagues will fail to do so as well. If you feel declining a meeting may cause internal political turmoil discuss with your boss or colleague and get their insights as to whether you really need to attend a meeting.
- If an agenda is not offered for a virtual meeting then you should politely ask for one so you can determine what value you add and would receive in attending the meeting. I often position asking for an agenda as wanting to be sure that I am prepared for a meeting. If I do not to be prepared for a meeting do I really need to attend?
- Don’t be a passive meeting attendee, if a meeting is getting “off track” then steer it back to its objectives. Meeting leaders often appreciate not needing to always be the “bad guy” in keeping people on task
I look forward to input from the community so we can create a useful tool to mitigate the risk of unproductive virtual meetings and the lowering the IQs of meeting attendees.