Marketers In Progress’ Post

Two terrible stories about one on one meetings. 🫠 The First story. There was a time when I seriously stuffed up my one on one’s. How? Well, I somehow didn’t add one team member to the list of one on one’s. And we didn’t have any meetings. And the Icing on this cake? I truly believe that one on one meetings are one of the most important tools in any manager’s arsenal. 😰 The Second story. Why did a team member think I was about to fire him? I was only going to ask about work and appreciate the progress he was making, ask how is he feeling and if there is anything that could be improved. Whhhaaaat? Why was he thinking that I was going to fire him then? That was my first experience setting up one on ones and the team didn’t have such practice. Naturally team members got anxious when their manager set up one on one meetings without agenda. 🤦🏻♂️ Doing anything for the first time is likely to be hard. I wish I had a guide back then to avoid such stupid mistakes.

Meetings don't have to be a dreaded part of the work week. In fact, a well-organised and productive meeting can save time, increase productivity, and improve teamwork. At Catalysing Outcomes, we encourage our clients to be proactive in thinking about how they can improve their meetings. Is there a better way to have the meeting? Is it too long or too frequent? Meetings should be helpful for everyone and people should look forward to attending them. Let's turn meetings into the highlight of your day! #MeetingGoals #ProductiveMeetings #Teamwork

How long should a team meeting really be? - Long enough to cover everything - Short enough that people still want to come - Doable in a reasonable time frame Keeping everyone engaged is a challenge. And if the discussion isn't of interest to the group, you've lost their attention. So, whatever the duration, make sure every minute counts. It's important to: - 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 - stay on topic - encourage participation - challenge ideas - find a solution - celebrate wins Also, consider a change of scenery: - Walking meetings - Stand-up meetings - Coffee shop meetings Finally, adjust the frequency: - Weekly? - Fortnightly? - Monthly? Strike a balance → maintain self-awareness → keep it interesting. What are your tips for effective meetings?

Meetings are a must when we're spread out across three continents. 🗺️ We tried something a little different today by shifting the focus away from tasks and updates. Rather than info-sharing, we focused on: 💫 Inspiration - are there positive signals we should know about? ⛽ Motivation - how do we connect to the problem we're solving? 🫂 Connection - what's going on in our lives apart from work stuff? Not all meetings require a defined agenda to be effective. Yea or nay? #BuildingWithThePublic - Day 95

Meetings are a part of work life. They are needed to resolve important matters and keep the team updated. But it is also a fact that at (many) times, we secretly resist to attend them. Causes can be: Unnecessarily lengthy meetings. Repetition of agenda, with no resolution. Disinterested attendees. Unscheduled meetings, and hence frequent. Monologues instead of group discussion. There might be other reasons too. What other options are there instead of meetings to solve issues and keep the team posted ? And, how can introverts participate meaningfully in meetings?

💡 Recently, someone asked me how they could run more productive meetings with a team that includes both introverts and extroverts. I recommended reading Susan Cain’s Inclusive Meeting Checklist. It's a fantastic resource that you can find here - https://lnkd.in/dCDQRK5F What I love about this checklist is that it offers guidance not just for organisers but also for participants. Sharing it with your team can be a great first step toward making your meetings more inclusive and effective. ✨ My personal favourite from the list is framing agenda items as questions. It encourages participation and helps focus the discussion. ❓ If you could pick just one idea from this checklist to try in your next meeting, what would it be?

☀️ Monday morning. Your calendar? Packed with meetings. How does that make you feel? Overwhelmed? Maybe even dreading it? For many, meetings have become an additional source of frustration. But here’s the problem: meetings aren’t going away. So, instead of seeing them as a drain on our: - Time - Energy - Resources What if we viewed them as a wellspring of: - Connection - Collaboration - New ideas Is it time to rethink your meeting mindset? Are meetings a drain, or can they be a wellspring of opportunity? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

This is GUARANTEED to make your meetings and conversations more successful: Before the meeting, write a bullet list of the things you want to talk about or accomplish. Of course, before a big meeting, we think about what we hope to accomplish. Maybe we score a huge meeting with a potential client, a coffee chat with someone we look up to or admire, or an executive at the company who agrees to hear your pitch or idea. But just keeping things in your mind isn’t enough. Meetings go sideways. The other person may take the conversation in a different direction. They may say something that makes you take it somewhere elese. Just thinking about what you want and actually writing it down are two very different things. I’ve found that EVERY TIME, if I take the time to write a list, I can reference the list as the meeting happens, checking things off, making sure I get the things I wanted covered. You don’t want to be the person who after the meeting says “oh I forgot to mention or ask about…” This is also key for 1:1 meetings with employees/managers, team meetings, and pretty much anything else. Take 2 min and write a list. Just do it.

It’s Monday, a day often filled with meetings. One effective rule I consistently apply across my teams is the practice of simple preparation prior to meetings. Of course, the meeting itself should have a clear agenda and a set time limit. In addition to this, I encourage my team members to dedicate 5-10 minutes beforehand to organize their thoughts and questions. This small investment of time makes a significant difference; meetings tend to run more smoothly and rarely exceed the scheduled time. What are your little life hacks that make a big impact?

Some weeks feel like I’m winning but other weeks? It’s like my calendar is playing Jenga with my brain. Back-to-back calls. Tonnes of meetings. And by the end of it, I’m left asking myself: Did I actually do anything today? I think deep work doesn’t happen in 30-minute gaps. It happens when you can think. When you can breathe. When you can sit with a problem long enough to solve it. It’s beautiful. I feel a packed day of calls and meeting’s get in the way of focusing. Of course necessary sometimes, but too many and you lose momentum. It’s not that I don’t value collaboration, I love it. But I’ve realised: 💪🏽 Protecting your time to focus is just as important as having meetings 💪🏽 Saying ‘no’ or ‘not today’ can be super powerful 💪🏽 You can have your best ideas when you give yourself the space to think So now, I have non-negotiable, meeting-free blocks so I can deep work and problem-solve. I’d love to know: —> Do you agree with me? —> How do you balance deep work and meetings? —> Have you found a system that works for you? I’d love to know as I’m always looking for ways to get better at this. PS I know saying ‘no’ is really hard but it’s amazing once you learn how to.