The best meetings don’t sit still

(originally published on April 21, 2016)
Going to pick up this week on what I wrote about last time, that is to say, getting people out of the ball-and-chain-confines of office space. This time, however, I want to talk about getting out of the office to actually GSD (Getting Stuff Done) related to your work.
Most of you are probably thinking — I know where this is going — WORK RETREAT! Ha, I got you on that one, Paul! My team does a retreat every year/quarter/month!
Well, that’s great, but actually, no. The problems with the retreat are many, as are the advantages. The biggest, though, is that they require a ton of planning, from conception to execution, can be expensive, and might be more a source of stress to some, especially those who have to go off to the woods, leaving behind their spouses and children while they slosh through mud-filled obstacle courses or meditate in idyllic landscapes.
The other problem with retreats is that they really deal with day-to-day issues, and certainly not with ones specific to units or particular teams.
So, how can we overcome these challenges, without being stuck in a conference room or someone’s (usually the big boss, which can add to the “weight” of the meeting)?
Quite simply: Go for a walk.
Now, being in Montreal, this can sometimes be a challenge, in particular during the winter months between January and December (just kidding — we have summer here, too…sometimes). And since arriving in my current role, we are only just embarking on that time of year where the Walking Meeting is something that can truly be enjoyed. But they will happen (take note, team, and hold me to it!).
A Stanford University study from 2014 showed that walking allows people to do their best thinking, even when compared to sitting outdoors (which was long touted as the key to tapping into creativity).
Harvard Business Review took this a step further in August 2015 when they focused specifically on the Walking Meeting, and provided us with guides on how to get them right. Their work found that not only did walking cause a sense of relaxation in participants, but that it broke down the barriers of hierarchy and put everyone on equal ground.
Following Why I Kick People Out Of Their Office, Trevin Wecks , Chief Change Agent at Lamar Advertising wrote me to tell me that he was not only planning on kicking himself out of the office, he had “forwarded it to a bunch of my team members and it motivated me to alter my quarterly goal of taking one employee to lunch every week — instead I’m going on a walk-and-talk with them in the great outdoors!”
The world is changing. Sometimes, it feels like it is doing so faster than our minds can handle (and maybe it is, but more on that in a later post). While we try to do more and more with the same amount of time, we need to make sure that we find new, innovative ways to stay fresh, focused and creative.
Going Walking With Others just might be one of those answers.
