How to Run an Inclusive Meeting

I’m considering submitting an idea for design of a 90-minute meeting to the New Rules for Work. First I have to get over my resistance to encouraging more meetings.

Photo by Iluha Zavaley on Unsplash

When I first saw this challenge I thought, “the last thing the working world needs is more meetings!” But I realized that in my work, that isn’t totally true — the last thing I need is to go to yet another meandering meeting with no purpose, requiring no contribution from me. You know what I’m talking about — these are typically regularly scheduled meetings, time to “check-in”, with no agenda, no decisions, no outcomes except to schedule the next meeting.

I get a lot of my energy working with other people, especially a team with a shared passion and purpose. Therefore, I actually don’t want to do away with all meetings. Give me a (virtual) room with a whiteboard / Miro board filled with people ready to take action to solve a big problem and I’m all in … especially if I get to hold the pen (kidding, kinda — anyone who has worked with me knows I’m quick on the draw to grab the pen!).

Great Meeting Design

What does a great, “90-minute meeting that a team can use to address a challenging goal and identify 2–3 responses that inspire action” look like? First and foremost, the meeting incorporates inclusion practices: everyone is present, participating, achieving, and supported. As a facilitator or team lead, the role I most often hold, it is my job to draw ideas out from everyone in the room and to ensure we build on each other’s ideas, giving credit where credit is due. Because it is my belief that everyone can make a unique contribution if we provide the right environment and by providing space for these ideas to shine, the outcome will be more creative and innovative, propelling the team forward.

Here’s what this looks like in practice:

1. Objectives — when sending the meeting request, I make sure I establish a goal for the meeting. After all, I am requesting participants spend ~20% of their day with me so I need to make it worth their while. The goal can reiterate the challenge or project goal but it should also establish the objective for the meeting. Why are we working on this again? What do we hope to achieve? What decisions do we need to make? Why is the expected contribution of each individual participant? (Hint: if they’re not going to contribute, don’t invite them, or at least mark them as optional.)
2. Homework — before the meeting, I send out information providing context, reminding participants of our collective point-of-view or progress on the challenge we are addressing. This is where I as the leader or facilitator get to hold the pen. It’s my job to set the stage for where we are and where we are going, and WHY. Ideally, I check in with stakeholders (not just participants) prior to the meeting to get their point of view and incorporate it in the homework. My favorite way to communicate context is with a one pager that includes vision, milestones, progress and team contributions.
3. Agenda — also sent before the meeting, the agenda establishes timing and topics to be covered. If I have more than 50% time set aside for one topic it’s my indicator that I need to break it down more to clearly show participants what we intend to cover and accomplish. I have a workshop design template that really helps me think through each part of the meeting including the goals for each section, my approach (with detailed timing) and the process I will take. I sometimes share this with participants but usually it is TMI; it’s more a tool for me to use to ensure I have my ducks in a row.
4. Introduction — ok, let’s be honest: participants probably won’t be in the habit of doing the homework you sent out, especially if they’re suffering from meeting overload. I like how Amazon’s culture does not allow presentations in meetings but instead, sets aside the first part of the meeting for participants to read. For a 90-minute meeting I set aside the first 10 minutes for people to settle in and look at the information I sent ahead of time. I have the agenda up during this time and I give them reminders of time they have left. I set aside a few minutes at the end of this period to gather initial thoughts, which I capture in the meeting parking lot, visible to everyone so they feel heard. And to ensure I am practicing inclusion, I make sure ALL participants contribute their thoughts. (Hint: If you make this a part of the beginning of every one of your meetings, participants will start to do the homework ahead of time.)
5. Activities — these are the sections of the meeting (each less than 50% of the total meeting time) that we planned for collaborative action. They might be mapping our collective understanding of the challenge, brainstorming and co-creating some portion of the solution, or identifying barriers individuals are experiencing and requests for help. Danger — participant updates need to be included in the homework; don’t make this time about each team member providing an update. I know this can be challenging as you are asking participants to communicate their update in writing. You can help them get started by asking them to dictate their update to you (or a bot) before submitting it. Be especially cognizant of diverse communication styles and allow for alternatives to ensure you are maximizing the contribution of each participant both before and during the meeting. Be sure to transparently capture what people are saying either in the exercise or parking lot especially for those participants who are hogging the floor, complaining and criticizing. These people often just want to be heard so make sure they know everyone heard them so you can just move on already!
6. Decisions — every one of my meetings includes decisions and planned action for every member of the team. What is our collective recommendation for where to go next? Listen carefully to everyone’s ideas on how to proceed because often a different approach that challenges your status quo has the potential to yield a better outcome. I make sure there is enough time in this conclusion space to check in with everyone, which requires careful time keeping but worth it because participants leave armed with expectations for action and a commitment to take that action. And please, don’t use this time to schedule the next meeting — ugh!
7. Afterwards — if it is available to me, I ask someone to take notes and capture decisions. But be careful here as often one participant is always singled out as the notetaker (signaling gender, race or age bias) which can limit their unique contribution to the meeting. Good news is that there are bots that can help with a bit of cleanup by you before you send it out. This is often an opportunity for me to update my 1-pager to send out with the notes to remind stakeholders of the why, who and what of our efforts. To format the notes for TDLR, I typically capture the top 10 decisions or actions at the top and then if necessary, include the full transcript below. As the team lead this is a good opportunity to celebrate our progress and identify ways that I can do better in the future. Be sure to use this to highlight the unique strengths and contribution of participants to thank them for investing their time in the meeting.

We Can Do Better Meetings

This may seem like a lot of work but think about how much time is wasted, with many people spending upwards of half their time in meetings. Especially for new managers who hold almost 30% more meetings than seasoned managers. I have worked remotely for 20 years, and I love the asynchronous nature of hybrid / remote work. In this environment, leaders need to intentionally incorporate both synch and asynch collaboration to create a strategy that maximizes both individual and team productivity.

Some call meetings a “necessary evil”. If I am invited to a meeting that is expected to be evil, don’t wait for me to show up! I come to meetings that are inclusive, collaborative and creative, where decisions are made that lead to real progress. I thrive in the group energy of working towards a common purpose. I expect to deliver value to the people I invite to my meetings, so I make sure I respect the time they invest in our collaborative work. But this is a work in progress — how can I do better?