“It’s 4:00 o’clock, I’m exhausted from meetings and I didn’t get any of my projects done.”
“We can’t cancel the meeting; this is our opportunity for us to align and know the status of the initiative”
How often does this inner dialogue run through your head before you plaster on a smile and head into yet another “critical” meeting?
The truth is, if you’re feeling this way the chances are high your team feels the same way. Even if they show up prepared, if you’re seeing indicators of exhaustion and missed deadlines – these meetings could be doing more harm than good.
Just imagine how much time one less meeting would allow you to spend on strategic work.
So why is it so hard to have the courage to cancel meetings?
In an era where technology enables us to connect virtually, the ability to host meetings has never been easier. But as with anything in excess, over connection can actually have a negative impact on productivity.
Before canceling your Zoom subscription, I would recommend reconsidering how many meetings you currently have with your team and what the true intention of each meeting is. Categorize them by purpose, such as Follow Up, Collaboration, Relationship Building, Strategy, etc.
Once you’ve done that, take a look how many you have in each category and determine if your meetings are indicators of a larger problem. For example, if all of your meetings are follow ups, that may be an indicator that you aren’t trusting your team to complete their projects. If you have an excess of strategy sessions, it could be an indicator that a larger system within your organization is constantly needing attention.
There is nothing more important than creating an environment where people know and trust each other because we’ve spent time building relationships. Once we’ve laid that foundation in our organization, there is no need to continue to have meetings to maintain it. It is already there and the inputs and output of meetings can be done through other technology.
Bottom line: As leaders, we need to look at the landscape and assess what is the best use of time.
Having the courage to cancel those meetings and connect with our teams in more efficient ways isn’t “introverted” or “hands off” behavior, but rather a sign of strength in your leadership.
I recently had a conversation about communication in the workplace. This Podcast episode with Josh Little, Founder of Volley and explores how asynchronous communication gives people back time and the opportunity to engage in more meaningful conversations.
On the Drop in CEO Podcast and my solo episode this week coming out on June 11th I speak about The CEO’s Compass and the need to spend more time on the People & Process Development.
The role of a leader is to guide the process and help them to be more effective & efficient with their time and interactions. This is especially true in my article on Three Types of Emerging Leaders that Need Your Help, where I discuss leading indicators of individuals to spend more time in their development.
I’ve had the good fortune of meeting so many leaders whose expertise further supports the need to look at yourself and see how you avoid burnout in yourself as well as your team during Linkedin Live conversation with Dr. Stanley Ward. If you like this piece, we had a fantastic conversation during our podcast interview as well.
Do you have the mindset to assess when a meeting is valuable and when an email or other collaborative tool will suffice?
Here are three tips to start your journey to “Cancel Courage:”
- Assess the % of time in meetings each month and cut 10% of them and re-allocate to strategic work
- Assess the % of time in meetings each month and cut another 10% and re-allocate to personal development
- Yes… cut another 10% and re-allocate to employee development
During this process create rules for you and your team for when a meeting is required.
By demonstrating “Cancel Courage” to your team, you may find they model the same behavior and leverage email or just picking up the phone to give you back time in your day for productive work.
If you still struggle with this, please have the “Courage” to do something different in your personal life and in your organization. Let’s book a free 15 minute call