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As a consultant focused on training and development, I get invited to help with two major types of initiatives – courses and meetings. Most of my clients, and I’d argue most leaders, see these two things as separate and different things. Courses or training initiatives are designed to help your employees advance their skills, or …
Improving breakout sessions at meetings is not about doing more or less of them, it is about changing HOW you do them. When most people think about breakout groups in meetings, they think of boring and unproductive conversations that they aren’t very excited to have. Sending people off into smaller groups to talk about something …
One of the most obvious results of the pandemic is that more and more busineses interactions are happening virtually. But what happens when you host hybrid meetings – with some folks in person and some folks online? How do you balance physical presence with virtual connection in a way that works for everyone? It is …
Designing and planning a retreat is much like cooking a good meal. The recipe matters, but so do the natural instincts of the chef, the folks who contribute to the food, the way in which you add the ingredients, and the setting where it is cooked up and served. When I’m designing a retreat, I …
When I ask friends and colleagues what bugs them about meetings they attend, the most common answer I get is pointless meetings – or “meeting just for the sake of meeting.” They don’t understand why they have to attend meetings at which there is no clear agenda or goal. Frankly, I don’t blame them. One …
I’m going to start this article on managing time at meetings with a strong statement: wasting other people’s time is disrespectful, and we do it all the time at meetings. In fact, I would argue that feeling your time was wasted is one of the biggest reasons that people hate meetings; they could have been …
If the pandemic forced your staff to work remotely, the adjustment back to working together (when it is safe to do so) may feel strange. Folks have fallen into new habits, schedules have changed, and our ways of communicating have adjusted. Some of those changes are for the better, and a hybrid workplace may be …
What does it look like for you when a meeting is unsuccessful? For me, unsuccessful meeting are the ones that seem to lack purpose, direction, and productivity. They’re the ones in which you get distracted because they don’t seem important enough to be happening, or the ones that seem incredibly important but aren’t run in …
Does the thought of another online meeting make your eyes roll to the back of your head? Can’t take one more “you’re on mute,” barking dog, or meeting that seems to lack any purpose or direction? Zoom Fatigue (or Teams, or whatever platform you use) from too many boring online meetings is hitting big time. …
I’m a professional planner, facilitator, and educator. I plan and host meetings all of the time. So when my son was turning eleven during the pandemic, it was natural that I would help him plan his online birthday party. “But a Birthday Party is not a meeting,” you might say. On the one hand you …
