Hate Meetings?
Can anyone lead great meetings?
Dick Massimilian, a leadership coach from Highland Park, insists anyone can.
“Leading effective meetings isn’t complicated,” he said. “It simply requires a willingness to value other people’s time as you do your own and to invest time in treating people’s presence and attention as a gift, not as an entitlement.”
Massimilian provides more specifics in his books, including How to Lead an Effective Meeting (and get the results you want), and, co-authored with vascular surgeon Dr. Ron Blumoff, a Doctor’s Edition of the same title.
Massimilian, who has founded and sold businesses, co-owns Highland Park Housekeeping, a luxury home cleaning company.
His consulting and coaching work has included banking, retail, and telecommunications industry clients in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, according to rdmassimilian.com.
His website also touts his experience in the technology, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and financial services industries with clients such as Hewlett Packard, Xerox, Corning, Diamondback Energy, Oasis Petroleum, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, Merrill Lynch, and UniCredit Banca.
“Well-run organizations have well-run meetings,” Massimilian said. “But no one teaches us how to run effective meetings.”
So, what are three quick tips for running better meetings?
Massimilian offered these:
1. Purpose and intended results. To lead an effective meeting, you must be crystal clear about what you want to achieve. No one will understand your objectives unless you do. What do you want to accomplish? How will you know you did?
2. Agenda. The heart of your meeting is the agenda. A well-done agenda doesn’t guarantee you’ll lead a great meeting, but your chances of leading a successful meeting without one are slim to none. Don’t lead a meeting without an agenda.
3. Invitation. Invitation is about setting the stage and teeing up what you want to get done. State the purpose of the meeting clearly and directly in the invitation. People need to know what you intend to accomplish and why you are requesting their time.
