Mindful Meetings

You may recall from our recent post “Why Johnny Can’t Work” that unnecessary, non-useful or irrelevant meetings are among the biggest causes of wasted productivity in most workplaces. We just found a relevant article on the Fast Company website that addresses one way to make meetings – if you have to have them – more meaningful. Let’s call this strategy Mindful Meetings and thanks to Dave Kashen of MeetingHero for the concept. You can see the full article on the web, but here’s a short synopsis.

The intersection of conversation about meditation and mindfulness and the awareness of the incredible amount of time that is wasted in many, if not most meetings is probably not an accident – or at the least it is a happy coincidence.

Applying mindfulness principles to your meeting structure suggests five steps that can be employed to make meetings more productive, and maybe even pleasant. Here are the steps:

1. Self check-in: As you begin a meeting, where is your head? Are you present, ready to bring your focus to the meeting, or are you distracted, thinking about other priorities or concerns? Remember that the other people in the meeting are going to be sensitive to your cues, so if you are not really there in the room, they may feel they have permission to check out as well.
2. Group check-in: Rather than starting the meeting full on, why not take a few minutes to ask each participant where their head is (essentially get them to perform Step 1 above and share with the others). A simple question like “On a scale of 1 – 10, how present are you right now?” is enough to give people a chance for reflection. You might even start your meeting with a brief meditation, to help people slough off any distractions they have brought into the room with them.
3. State Your Intentions: We’ve talked about the importance of having an agenda before, but this step goes beyond an agenda review. Take a few minutes to describe what you really hope will come from the time you are about to spend together. Be brief, yet clear. When meeting participants really understand the purpose of the meeting, it is easier for them to focus on the business at hand.
4. Distinguish the Parts: Use your agenda to alert people to what part of the meeting you are in at any time. Make sure people are on the same page. If you are identifying a problem, stay focused on that part until you feel that sufficient work has been done to move forward. When you change gears – for example, to evaluating solutions – announce that change and give everyone a moment to re-structure their thinking so that they can be fully present and participatory in the new stage of the meeting.
5. Wrap It Up: Don’t let your meeting dissolve slowly without a wrap-up. Once people feel the meeting is ending, it’s not unusual for side conversations to begin, or for people to start to drift out of the room gradually. Plan ahead to spend a few minutes before the group disbands to clearly state what has happened, and what needs to happen in the future as a result of anything you have discussed or agreed upon during your time together. Identifying “next steps”, including the what? by whom? and by when? is critical to getting the most out of  your meeting. Similarly, stating the unresolved issues will insure that loose ends are not forgotten. Depending on your group, it can be very valuable to provide a written summary to everyone soon after the close of the meeting as well, so that there is little ambiguity about what needs to be done next.

The close of the meeting is also a great time to consider a brief period of meditation. A couple of minutes of silence, and the suggestion that every participant take a moment to let the experience of the meeting, along with ideas discussed, lessons learned, and agreements made sink into individual consciousness, can make all the difference in the value of the investment of time and energy you have each and have collectively just made. And, you do everyone a kindness by creating a quiet and calm transition between the work you have just accomplished and whatever they have to do next.