Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.
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No one wants to hold a meeting that everyone dreads going to. If your meeting falls into that category, try using empathy to plan it better.
o Start by putting your agenda aside and asking two questions: (1) Who is going to be in the room, and what are their needs? (2) Who won’t be in the room but will be affected by the meeting, and what are their needs?
o Then seek out people from both of those groups. Ask them what they hope to get out of the meeting and what an ideal outcome would be. Even if you run regular meetings with the same group of people, checking in like this can build trust, surface hidden issues, and ensure that participants feel invested.
o Doing this for every meeting may seem onerous, but with practice you can learn to do it in less time. And this small investment up front will save significant time in the long run.
Adapted from “Plan a Better Meeting with Design Thinking,” by Maya Bernstein and Rae Ringel
To check out that HBR article and join the discussion, please click here.
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