Of course you do. We all want better meetings.
We want people to be present, focused, attentive, and collaborative.
I’m not going to give you all the usual advice about only scheduling meetings when absolutely necessary, only inviting the relevant people, and making sure you have an agenda – and then sticking to it. (Yes, I know you see what I did there.)
I’m going to give you one extremely simple, effective-but-difficult rule for your meetings:
~ no cell phones ~
Better yet, no devices at all.
I’m sure you know why I’m saying this. Just look around in your next meeting, whether in person or on video.
There’s loads of evidence that taking notes by hand, with pen on paper, creates better retention and higher-quality notes. If you need a digital record, it’s easy enough to transcribe or scan the handwritten notes, or to designate one person as the digital recorder.
Speaking of video, if you’re wondering how to verify that people on your video calls aren’t sneaking peeks at their phones, you have a bigger problem than meeting effectiveness. What does a commitment to abide by a “no cell phone” rule in meetings actually mean if you can’t trust people to follow through?
This is a dual issue of culture and leadership. (Which, of course, can’t be separated from each other.) Are your leaders and managers modeling good device hygiene? If not – well – are you?
I’m working on a checklist of short-and-simple to more-challenging ideas for improving leadership skills within organizations; this is one of the simple ones. If you’d like to see it when it’s finished, drop me a note and I’ll make sure to get it to you.