Team and Business Meeting

Common problems with a team & business meeting

Chapter 5 p.8

Also see: How to manage a meeting

OK, I admit my last team meeting was chaotic. But what could I do? Some people kept on asking what’s the point of the meeting, others engaged in side conversations… Can you tell me what went wrong?

Common problems in work-related meetings usually centre around either poor preparation for the meeting or lack of control during meetings.

But how will I know what to focus on?

Poor preparation is often reflected in one or more of the following:

• No agenda.
• No/unclear objectives stated for the meeting.
• Purpose not defined.
• Too many items on the agenda.
• Agenda items not prioritized.
• One agenda item monopolizes the meeting.
• Invitations that are vague or misleading.
• Chairperson unprepared.
• No prior research about issues.
• Too many participants invited.
• Participants not interested in being there.
• Participants unprepared and not able to contribute.
• Key players not present.
• Decision makers not present.
• Equipment not working.

Lack of control often results in:

• No leader/facilitator – meeting dominated by “an expert” or whoever speaks the most and/or loudest.
• Meeting lacks focus – irrelevant points are introduced.
• People not showing up, coming late or leaving early.
• Uninvited attendees.
• Inattentive participants.
• Hidden agendas.
• Lack of questions.
• Side conversations.
• Interruptions.
• Repetition.
• Lack of value-adding comments.
• No growth on issues.

While you’re at it, why not brush up on your facilitating skills…the Issue Resolution Model and the Decision Making Process would be a good start.

Tagged as: Agenda Item, Amp, Attendees, Business Meeting, Chairperson, Decision Makers, Decision Making Process, Facilitating Skills, Focus, Hidden Agendas, Interruptions, Invitations, issue resolution, Participants, Prior Research, Repetition, Resolution Model, Side Conversations