Set the Agenda: Quality Meetings Don't Just Happen
Whether you’re leading meetings or stuck attending them, this newsletter will help you save time, move work forward, and get people actually looking forward to your next call.
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Reader wisdom issue: introvert meeting bingo, running agendas, and more!
Published 7 days ago • 5 min read
Set the Agenda: Quality Meetings Don't Just Happen
In the Set the Agenda welcome email, I ask people to reply with “a meeting trick you use that you wish more people knew about,” and this one from Connie Mistler-Ferguson, Fractional CoS, was too good not to share.
Connie wrote:
For running meetings keeping ONE doc that’s easy to navigate for all the notes is so much more efficient before, during and after the meeting
This is a practice I use myself. Instead of sending agendas and action items over email or creating new documents every time you meet, I keep one running document with each new agenda above the prior meeting's. Notes and action items are captured in that same doc for easy reference.
I chatted with Connie to get even more context on this tip:
[Set the Agenda] What kinds of meetings is this good for?
[Connie] One-on-ones, weekly team meetings, really any meeting with people who will be meeting multiple times.
What are your practical or logistical tips for what should go in this document?
For a one-on-one:
General check in
Key priorities
Feedback
All the little questions (last)
Set the Agenda additions
It can be helpful to put key links to docs often referenced at the top
Putting notes from the most recent meeting at the top, not the bottom, helps keep it easy to navigate
How does this help bring more intention before, during, and after your meetings?
For me specifically, I get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of the week. I appreciate having key priorities or OKRs at the top
Filling out that priority section is a helpful gut check to realize “oh, I haven’t been thinking about some of these goals.” It helps me assess if I’m using my time well.
Any final thoughts?
If you use this consistently for your one-on-ones and are actually sharing feedback every week, this can be invaluable data for performance reviews.
I want to credit my former manager, Kailey Cartwright, current Director of Learning, Talent Management, Belonging & Social Impact at SurveyMonkey [also a STA reader!] for introducing me to this approach in our one-on-ones years ago
Put this into action:
What’s one upcoming meeting for which you could introduce a running agenda document instead of creating a new one every time?
Meeting Minute
Delivered every Monday so you don't have to get creative before 9 AM
Use these to start and end your meetings this week
Where have you seen someone handle something well under pressure? Who, and why?
"Every other week, I lead a two-hour strategy session with my leadership team. We intentionally avoid day-to-day operational topics unless something truly urgent comes up. In this session, our opener focused on recognition, as I had become aware of some declining morale among staff due to the pressure of [recent] migration efforts.
As a leadership team, we have a strong bias toward action and problem-solving, which can sometimes mean we move quickly from one issue to the next without pausing to celebrate wins and the people behind the work.
What stood out to me was how leaders showed up under pressure by taking the time to recognize others. I paid close attention to who was being called out and how, which gave me an opportunity to follow up directly with those individuals to acknowledge their impact."
"Can you paint me a picture of what done looks like?"
This is a twist on a typical check-out -- it's a question Jen uses to guide herself before leaving a meeting, especially ones meant to align on expectations for new deliverables when collaborating across teams.
This was inspired by Brené Brown's Dare to Lead. From Jen, "I don't actually ask folks to "paint done for me" in meetings but I make sure that I ask questions in that vein so I leave meetings with the context and details to fully understand what "done" looks like for all deliverables (not just my interpretation of what done should look like.)"
Submitted by Jen Conetta, Executive Director of Alumni and Donor Records at the University of Vermont Foundation
Set the Agenda reader Amy created this bingo card to push herself to participate more in meetings as an introvert.
When she had the opportunity to chair a big cross-state meeting last month, she made it part of the meeting for others, too. She printed this out and offered a prize.
Introvert bingo card
Set the Agenda note: this bingo card does a great job of reinforcing norms for participation, which complements a norm-setting conversation well.
Submitted by Amy Unsworth, Director of Student Assistance, Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education – Montana University System
You're one of those rare birds who understand that leadership happens through meetings. And that's only possible with intention before, during, and after. Welcome to the club - I'm glad you're here!
Set the Agenda: Quality Meetings Don't Just Happen
Lead Through Meetings, Not Despite Them
Whether you’re leading meetings or stuck attending them, this newsletter will help you save time, move work forward, and get people actually looking forward to your next call.
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