DEVELOPMENT and change things that don ’ t serve us . We stop thinking about things outside of our control and focus on things we do have control over – like making meetings just 25-minutes ! Action hero 25-minute meetings : w Have a laser-like focus w Engage participants w Keep attendees present and on task , so increase productivity w Leave people with a sense of accomplishment and purpose w Save time .
Death by meetings … Or not !
Move from calendar chaos to powerful and productive 25-minute meetings with productivity expert Donna McGeorge
THE EXPERT
Donna McGeorge is a speaker , author and mentor who helps people make their work work . Using a creative , practical approach , she improves workplace effectiveness while challenging thinking on leadership , productivity and virtual work . ‘ The First 2 Hours : Make Better Use of Your Most Valuable Time ’ is published by John Wiley .
Time-poor , stressed out , overwhelmed and on the verge of ‘ death by meetings ’… Sound familiar ?
As a high-level EA , it is likely your calendar could be peppered with irrelevant or tedious back-to-back catchups whilst your mailbox is overloaded with messages screaming for attention . Every time you get a chance to breathe and catch up on some ‘ real work ’, your computer pings to remind you of yet another pointless meeting starting in five minutes .
But don ’ t get me wrong – we need meetings . We need them at work because when they work , they are valuable . Clear actions get set , decisions are made and the whole business moves forward . What we don ’ t need , though , are meetings that waste time , money and resources .
The solution ? A 25-minute meeting . Short , sharp and productive . Gets the job done – and gets more value in less time .
Autopilot to action hero When it comes to meetings , many of us are on autopilot . We look for excuses and reasons to blame external forces for the lack of engagement ( company culture , calendars , time , nature of work , projects , etc .) and we say to ourselves : “ If only the organisation would …” or “ It ’ s management ’ s fault because …”
When we become an action hero , we give ourselves permission to take charge of the situation
Structure your 25-minute meeting with the 9Ps SET UP w Purpose : Why are we here ? For every meeting you schedule ( or are invited to ) you should be able to finish this sentence : “ At the end of this meeting it would be great if …” w People : Less is best ! Think about who you need and try and keep it to around five people . Your meetings will be punchy and get the job done . w Process : How will we achieve our purpose ?
SHOW UP w Preparedness : Everyone has to have done the pre-work and be ready for the discussion . w Punctuality : Irrespective of who is in the room , the meeting will start and end on time . There is no repetition or make-up for latecomers . w Presence : No laptops or phones – it ’ s 25 minutes of focused discussion . Can ’ t make it ? Send a proxy but they must be punctual , prepared and present .
SPEAK UP w Participate : Start with a one-minute check in asking how people are – maybe a score out of 10 ? Give them a minute to be ‘ in ’ the meeting . This will help ensure they feel comfortable quickly , bring their genius to the table , share their insights , engage and ask quality questions . w Produce : Use the meeting to enhance work , not prevent anyone from doing ‘ real work ’. Make sure you achieve the purpose by staying on track and being focused on that . w Proceed : At the end of the meeting , publicly share who is doing what by when . Follow through on post-meeting commitments and actions to hold people accountable .
Get started now ! If you wait for ‘ the organisation ’ to fix meetings or get on board with 25-minute meetings and mandate their introduction , you might be waiting for a really long time . The 25-minute meeting method can be introduced by you , right now , for those meetings for which you have control – those you organise or chair , one-on-ones with your direct reports and your team meetings . S donnamcgeorge . com
56 Executive PA | Summer Issue 2023