Every Meeting Needs a Leader
by Dera DeRoche-Jolet

Every meeting needs a leader. It needs someone to guide it through any problems that might arise and encourage those attending. Without a leader, the meeting can drift, toss and ultimately never reach its destination. If that happens, everyone will leave that meeting upset, irritated, exasperated, aggravated, frustrated and with bruised feelings. It damages the company and does nothing to help your business.

Being the boss doesn’t necessarily make you a leader. Leaders must maintain control over the meeting and give the meeting and everyone there his or her undivided attention. A meeting that works is one where the leader takes charge and takes responsibility for everything that happens.

Your ability as a leader sets the tone of the meeting and your ability to express yourself makes the difference between a productive and an unproductive meeting. Encourage your employees. When needed, ask for clarification and don’t criticize.

Once you’ve embarrassed someone, next time they won’t feel as comfortable speaking up. The saying, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," is a good lesson for meetings. Don’t be rude. Treat your people nicely. Look people in the eye when talking to them and don’t talk when they are talking. Don’t leave the room for any reason without calling for a break. Don’t do other work while the meeting is in progress and hold all phone calls.

Think of meetings as having four stages. The first stage is to present the information. That includes presenting the purpose of the meeting and the facts or ideas necessary to achieve the purpose.

The second stage is to evaluate the information. That’s when everybody discusses the ideas and debates the possibilities.

The third stage is to come to a decision and resolve the problem.

The fourth stage is to take action and implement the decision. This involves giving out assignments along with a timetable.

That gives you an overall outline of a meeting, but it’s still up to you to take charge. Here are some suggestions:

Be Prepared. If you don’t, it will show. Do the research, prepare the reports or review whatever material will be discussed. Know the purpose of the meeting.

Distribute an Agenda. At the beginning of the meeting, distribute to everyone, an agenda, that includes the purpose and a list of all topics to be covered. List the topics in the order that you want to discuss them. The agenda should be brief so it can be easily and quickly read, but detailed enough so that everyone understands the purpose and topics.

Establish the Rules. You can’t play the game without rules and you can’t have a meeting without rules. Everyone at the meeting must know what those rules are.

Ideas First. Get all the facts on the table before judging them. Introduce all the information before discussing or debating its merits. This will encourage people to volunteer ideas and will prevent the meeting from being bogged down discussing the first idea.

Consider All Viewpoints. Let those attending the meeting present their opinions and defend their position. As leader, if you’re going to make the most informed decision possible, you must consider as many viewpoints as possible.

Keep the Meeting Moving. Keep your eye on the clock and stick to the time allotted. If need be, you can politely say, "It’s time we moved on." Whenever anyone strays from the topic at hand, it’s up to you to remind them. Ask, "Could you explain how what you have just said relates to this particular situation?" or say, "In the interests of time , let’s get back to the subject we were discussing." You might also want to summarize the meeting at regular intervals. This helps everyone organize their thoughts and keeps everyone focused.

Break Up Fights. Healthy disagreement is one thing, petty bickering and fighting is another. It’s up to you to maintain order.

Listen. Especially at meetings, we are usually preoccupied with what we are going to say next rather than really listening to what others are saying. As meeting leader, train yourself to listen, take in what was said, and then respond.

Take Notes. Have someone take notes in outline form, all subjects discussed, any decisions reached and relevant opinions and ideas offered. Having something written helps assure that nothing is forgotten and everyone knows what their assignment is.

Take Action. At the end of the meeting, make sure everyone understands the decisions and what they need to do. Review assignments so that everyone knows what their next step is.

By taking advantage of these suggestions, you’ll guide the meeting with style and arrive at your destination faster, stronger and in better shape. You’ll also find that the trip itself will be more productive and a lot more fun.