No boss can avoid meetings, so why not do them right – effectively and with motivational support? A good supervisor doesn’t cut corners, no matter how much they would like to. A good supervisor knows that meeting preparation is an important routine that they can’t ignore. Period.
In case you want to fight for your rights, we made a checklist for meeting attendee’s rights:
1. Invitation to the meeting
Some of us more impulsive types do not always understand why a meeting has to be convoked many days in advance. Couldn’t we just holler to everybody in the morning that, by the way, we’ll have the project meeting before lunch? It may be difficult for a more disorganized meeting organizer to remember that others need to know what the agenda is well in advance, and it must include the right meeting framework. You shouldn’t leave everything that you don’t feel like writing out under the heading of “other business”.
Each participant’s right and obligation is to receive an invitation to the meeting in a timely manner so that he or she can be ready and prepare his or her own presentation and get acquainted in advance with the material of the meeting. What, in someone’s opinion, is unnecessarily long notice, for others can be just about adequate, or even distressingly short!
A good rule of thumb is: it is a good idea to have the schedule for next week’s meetings in your calendar the week before.
2. Meeting agenda
Everyone is also entitled to receive the agenda along with the meeting invitation. I know many who will not come to a meeting that does not have an agenda – and they are right. An unplanned and unstructured meeting wastes everyone’s time and does not serve anyone. The same category includes getting to know the materials in advance – it would be nice if all participants respected their colleagues so much that they would read the materials sent in advance and not read the material for the next presentation during the previous one…
3. Beginning… and end
One more important step before the meeting itself: getting started on time. Every busy person knows what it feels like to wait for the last ones to show up, or start the first topic three times as all the latecomers finally arrive. We should all respect each other’s time and meeting attendee’s rights by keeping to the schedule, both when starting the meeting and following the agenda, as well as when closing the meeting.
4. Meeting report
The style and tool are optional as long as it works for your business and as long as memos are always created. Preferably take turns recording the minutes of the meeting and also agree on the distribution schedule.
What is the best time for meetings?