“OWN THE ROOM” AND ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS.
Some of us believe, at least we think that we can exhibit solid impromptu alacrity all the time. That we are exceptionally quick thinkers, particularly when leveraging our competencies. We are proverbially quick on our feet.
No matter! PREPARING TO LEAD A MEETING is critically important for everybody who will ever have to lead a meeting. And then HOW TO LEAD A MEETING to achieve specific goals.
My approach to preparing to and leading meetings is entirely dynamic; never casual nor akin to a leisurely passenger ride. The urge to “wing it” is a fool’s errand.
Whether you are a boss or an associate or employee who is tasked to lead a meeting, some imperative guidelines that are of genuine benefit will follow. Actually, the distinction of “boss” versus employee as related to preparing and running a successful meeting, is a distinction without a difference. If you are the CEO of a major, multinational public company, you are in fact a “big boss.” You are also an employee with respect to your board of directors. And to a significant extent, an employee of your stockholders. Ultimately, we are all “employees” of our consumers.
Thus, this concept that successful leaders should ultimately adopt. Whatever you do that benefits your company ultimately benefits you! That is one of my guiding principles as a principal in owned and operated businesses, an employee and an advisor at C’ and board levels in enterprises small to global brands.
As we get into absolute dos and don’ts, as a leader in meetings or public speaking you must know your audience. You must be prepared to at least address if not satisfy your audience’s basic needs from the meeting. One must never talk “at” their audience or constituency. Or over their heads. Or even — unwittingly — condescend to them. Or “give them” really ordinary pablum.
Never BS smart people
I am reminded of an early lesson by my genuinely brilliant, although sometimes insufferably intellectual father, would when as a young man and tried to, sorry, BS him, or give him very ordinary stuff, would bellow: “ARE YOU TALKING TO ME ???”
After that lesson learned, I have yet to ever try to mindlessly BS smart people. Yes, no matter the meeting you are chairing, there will be some or many or most smart people there. Nothing discounts whatever value you want to impart more than trying to BS smart people. However, do not confuse BS-ing with hard-sell. Just make certain that all your hard selling is well justified; at least entirely defensible.
Now some hard rules, starting with defining the purpose of the meeting, creating an agenda, communicating objectives, who to invite — friends, colleagues, fans and foes — and “convenient people.”
Define The Purpose of The Meeting.
Recognize that most of the time, there are competing interests, goals, perspectives, agendas – hidden and stated, among your crowd. So many meetings that are created with good intentions and goals end up quicksand beneath your feet. Even destructive to the enterprise and deleterious to one’s career.
- You must do that for the benefit of all stakeholders and bystanders who will either be affected or can cause effect therefrom. The latter is likely everybody else in your company who will know about the meeting and or hear about it thereafter! You know that is a fact in every business.
- You have to know that just about everybody in your company who you interface with, work with, lead, work for, have two agendas in everything they communicate to you, in whatever way. There is the stated agenda and then the “other” one. A hidden one.
As a boss, you have heard this many times. An employee reporting or wanting to talk about something specific. And then, there is that other thing that gets slipped into the conversation. As an employee, you thought about how to somehow introduce a topic that is most relevant to you or controversial or not a favorite for your boss, into an otherwise great conversation or email thread or in a shared online environment.
As a leader of a meeting, if it is your intent to introduce to those attending a less than universally liked topic to the meeting – and the many who will hear about it two minutes after the meeting adjourns – best keep that up your sleeve. Until the most appropriate time in your meeting. In other words, make that absolutely integral, again, at the right time and place in the meeting. Careful planning is the regour.
Think Through and Anticipate
What will come up in the meeting? Who might ask a question that you want to or do not want to answer. Prepare for all that.
Have strong and logical defensive tactics at the ready. You know, “I think the answer to your question is ‘X,’ however, I want to give that more thought. I will get back to you shortly.”
Identify The Right Participants
Let us stipulate from the get-go that THAT BY AND LARGE YOUR INTERESTS ALIGN WITH THOSE OF YOUR COMPANY or division or department or client.
If It Is Your Decision to Set The List Of Attendees to a Meeting You Lead, Who Are You Going to Invite and Why?
Who among the invitees will have the option to attend or not? Who do you want to participate (not including some who you want to exclude but cannot) and how does their involvement and participation further the achievement of the goals and outcomes you want? OUTCOMES YOU WANT.
Given the topics on your agenda and how those fit into the overall company strategy, environment and culture, who among your choices and non-choices do you want there? To be sure:
▸people you want there because of their well informed and or unique perspective
▸people you want to include so that you can promote your agenda to them
▸people you want to include so you can promote them or their agenda
▸“friendlies”
“Friendlies” are people who either by design or predictably will ask questions or pose perspectives you want to discuss, but do not neatly fit into the pre-set agenda or narrative. Sometimes inelegantly referred to as “plants…”
The “Innocent”
Perhaps a seemingly random low-level manager, or somebody entirely unrelated to any of the business at hand. Perchance an apparent courtesy invite or to further the education and exposure of that invitee. I called those “the innocents.” Maybe the person who was there only because they were to attend the next meeting right after yours; might as well learn something by staying at the meeting if allowed…
By design, the “innocent” may be the one to ask the most relevant question in the meeting! The one that by all rights, you would not want to answer. Or if it is your “plant,” you want to really go off on. Yes: you are absolutely prepared for that. Appears just an innocent question, albeit the million-dollar question.
On the downside, you know, there is the impulse is to educate that nice, innocent person. Help them escape their naiveté. If you are in a meeting with arrows flying at you, beware of the innocent that is not your “on purpose” invitee.
Create the Necessary Logistics
Everything that you prepare must benefit YOUR goals and desired outcomes from the meeting. Those have to be both your stated goals and outcome, and those that you also want to accomplish that you PURPOSEFULLY ELECT TO NOT DIVULGE AHEAD OF TIME.
Create An Agenda and Share It In Advance,
Create and agenda and share it in advance with sufficient lead-time for attendees to prepare. Your agenda should have OPEN ITEMS as the last topic. Ask all invitees to submit those the day prior to meeting.
You Do Not Want to Be Ambushed in Your Own Meeting.
You do not want to be blind-sided in your own meeting, thus, the disclosure of open items the day prior to your meeting.
Unless, as I stated previously, you in fact create an apparent ambush that you will handle with great insight, aplomb, and do so forcefully.
Consider Sharing Your Agenda More Widely
Consider sharing your agenda as a sort of “advisory” to others in the company who although not appropriate to attend, you want aware that this important meeting is taking place and what will be covered. There is much to say about the impact of that around your company. You are in fact creating a narrative that will support your agenda more broadly around the company.
Create Highly Focused Collaterals for Your Meetings
Make certain that those are audience-friendly! That is not your opportunity to show others how smart you are. Rather, their opportunity to learn and follow your lead.
Set Ground Rules. Once Set, Do Not Ever Soften on The Basics.
Your meeting has a very specific reason d’etre. Has specific goals; even anticipated outcomes. When done, many of us tend to “soften” the meeting: wind up positive and enthusiastic and respectful and inclusive. By and large, that is desirable. But: you are not running a group therapy session nor a five-star spa. Rather, a profit-making enterprise.
Summarize Your Meeting
A meeting without very specific resolutions is little more than Swiss cheese without the cheese. You must:
▸arrive to and communicate specific decisions
▸assign tasks and accountability
▸create timelines
▸create reporting logistics
“Blowing Your Cool”
In many meetings, yours or others you are invited to contribute to, you will have the desire to just “blow your cool” in frustration. Know that if you “blow your cool,” get angry, yell, scream, become belligerent, you will be perceived just as an angry person carrying on.
However, knowing that a really big or controversial or uncomfortable issue will likely come up in your meeting, be prepared. Then, you might “blow your cool” at the right time, the right way. Uber-forcefully, well thought-out, with unassailable logic and comprehension, and force. Now, that makes a big and positive impact.
Make all your meetings resounding successes.
©2024. Steven J. Manning. All rights reserved worldwide. Reproduction in part or whole, in any medium is prohibited unless specifically authorized.