Effective Meeting Management: A Reflection of Robust Leadership

The Importance of Efficient Meetings

In our quest for efficiency and productivity, it's crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of our meetings. How much time is squandered in conference rooms, discussing and revisiting old issues, complaining about irrelevant matters, and longing for an exit? Unfortunately, efficient meeting management is not a common practice in many companies.

Group meetings are integral to our team-oriented work culture. They are platforms where strategic decisions and action plans are made. Efficient meetings leave us energized, motivated, and ready to take action. On the contrary, inefficient meetings leave us drained, lethargic, and dreading the next meeting.

So, how can we transform our meetings?

The Key to Transforming Meetings

The first step towards transforming meetings is to identify their purpose and then assess if a meeting is indeed the best way to communicate the intended message. After all, the essence of meetings is communication.

Tannenbaum and Schmidt (T&S) proposed a leadership decision-making model that can help us structure our meeting agendas. This model, published in the Harvard Business Review in 1973, outlines seven methods of leadership. For the sake of simplicity, we'll focus on five of these methods.

According to T&S, every meeting involves two elements: participation from the members and authority of the leaders. Before each meeting, the leader must decide the level of participation and authority they want to exercise. In other words, the leader decides what to communicate and how to best communicate it in a meeting setting.

The Five Modes of Leadership in Meetings

• The Tell Mode: Suppose you have a new policy to communicate, and it's not open for changes. You want all members to understand the policy at once. In this case, according to the T&S Model, you would exercise maximum authority and require no participation from the group. Sometimes, when the Tell Mode is applicable, you might choose to send an email or other written communication instead of holding a meeting.
• The Sell Mode: Using the same policy example, this time, you want the group members to accept the new policy. Even though they can't change the policy, you want to persuade them about certain aspects of the policy. Instead of just informing them (as in the Tell Mode), you are selling them on it.
• The Test Mode: Unlike the previous two examples, there's a slight chance the policy may be altered. You present the policy for feedback as a test. If the group strongly opposes it, you can modify it. This is the first instance where there's a possibility for a change in the decision. As a meeting manager, you must ask beforehand, can this decision be changed? If the answer is maybe, you are at least in the Test Mode. If the answer is no, you must either be in the Tell or Sell mode.
• The Consult Mode: Now, we've moved down the continuum of participation where there's more participation from the members than authority from the leaders. In the Consult Mode, the leader relinquishes a lot of authority to encourage group participation. Why? This time, the leader wants to hear from the group members as consultants to the decision. This is the first instance in the model where the leader has not yet made a decision. The members share ideas and suggestions, but the final decision lies with the leader. The leader retains the final authority, and the group is aware of that. If you, as the leader, go into the meeting with a decision firmly made, you are not in the Consult Mode. You must either be in the Tell, Sell, or Test Mode. A Consult Mode leader spends a lot of time in the meeting listening.
• The Join Mode: The final stage along the continuum is the polar opposite of the Tell Mode. In the Tell Mode, participation was at zero, and authority was at its highest. In the Join Mode, participation is at its highest, and authority is at zero. The leader relinquishes all authority and joins the group to make the decision collectively. Although Join Mode meetings can be the most chaotic, when members know they are in the Join Mode, these meetings can also be rewarding experiences.

For meetings to be effective, leaders must decide which mode suits their communication needs before the meeting begins. Tell, Sell, and Test Mode meetings take less time than Consult and Join meetings. Some leaders make the mistake of entering a meeting in the Tell or Sell Mode but pretending they are in the Consult or Join Mode. This leads to a lot of wasted time discussing matters that won't lead anywhere.

Before your next meeting, determine what you want to communicate and which level of participation and authority would facilitate that.

Effective meeting management requires careful planning and strong leadership, regardless of the mode selected. You can become a proficient meeting manager and transform your meetings. Why not start today?