- Establish a clear purpose and prepare properly for the meeting. Understand the needs and interests of participants. Consult with the influencers/powerbrokers and lobby if required. Prepare meeting agenda and communicate long in advance. Arrive ten minutes before the meeting.
- Establish meeting ground rules and enforce professional etiquette. Insist on participants raising their hands before speaking. Discourage side conversations, interruptions, and define the use of mobile devices. Promote robust discussion but with respect for different views and openness to new ideas. Prevent long-winded inputs and discussions. Encourage solution and action-oriented contributions. Discourage loud/aggressive speaking. Encourage emphatic listening. Encourage participants to compromise self-interests for the greater good.
- Facilitate meeting proactively towards the desired outcomes. Encourage participation by the majority. Discourage domination by few.
- Strive for win/win outcome. Win/lose may be short-term gain but long-term loss when fairness is compromised.
- Strict time management. Time is money, and the most expensive resource, especially of managers and leaders. Keep meetings short. Do not have a meeting unless absolutely necessary and you cannot resolve a problem or make a decision without the meeting. Have standing meetings rather than sitting meetings whenever practical.
- Develop an action plan, allocate responsibilities, agree on a budget, timeframes, and monitoring mechanisms.
- Record minutes of the meeting during the meeting and send them to all participants immediately after the meeting. This will build your credibility.
- Follow up on action plan implementation.
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