In Episode 35, here's what's on the agenda:

💡 Insight: In many cases, meetings are convened unnecessarily

📰 Unpopular Opinion: Employers should focus on outcomes rather than hours worked

🧰 Expert Interview: Why meetings might be making you less productive

✨Food For Thought: 10 simple ways to make meetings more productive

Insights:

Meetings serve important functions in the workplace, such as providing updates, fostering collaboration, and making key decisions.

However, in many cases, meetings are convened unnecessarily or excessively due to factors like inexperience or a desire for control over decision-making.

The problem with these excessive meetings is that they can have a detrimental impact on employee morale and productivity.

Employees often feel frustrated and demotivated when they perceive their time as being wasted in meetings where they don't feel valued or involved.

Moreover, constant micromanagement from leaders can create a culture of distrust and hinder team cohesion, ultimately leading to disengagement and turnover.

To mitigate these issues, entrepreneurs need to take a more strategic approach to meetings.

Instead of scheduling meetings out of habit or a need for control, they should focus on empowering their team members to make decisions autonomously and invite only those who truly need to be present.

This not only respects employees' time and autonomy but also fosters a sense of ownership and accountability within the team.

Ultimately, this shift in mindset can lead to a happier, more engaged workforce and contribute to the long-term success of the organization.

Unpopular Opinion

Employers should focus on outcomes rather than hours worked

Bosses should care more about what gets done than how long someone sits at their desk. This means looking at the results of someone's work, not just the hours they put in.

Think about it: If someone finishes their work quickly and it's really good, does it matter if they didn't spend all day in the office?

And should we really praise someone who spends all day at their desk but doesn't do much?

The old way of judging productivity by the number of hours worked doesn't make sense anymore.

It doesn't consider that people work differently and have different schedules. Plus, some of the best ideas come when people are out of the office.

By focusing on what people achieve instead of how long they're at work, bosses can help everyone do better.

It gives people the freedom to work when they're most inspired and helps build trust between bosses and workers.

It also means being fair to everyone, no matter their situation outside of work.

But changing how we think about work isn't easy. It means bosses have to trust their workers and be clear about what they want. And it means workers need to take responsibility for getting things done, no matter where or when they work.

In the end, by caring more about results than hours worked, everyone can be happier and more successful at work.

Expert Interview

Why meetings might be making you less productive

Research from Microsoft shows that not only are people spending more time in meetings these days, but they're also attending more of them.

Alot of these meetings aren't doing us any favors.

In fact, they're the main reason why we're feeling so distracted and unproductive at work.

Steven Rogelberg, who wrote "Glad We Met," has some insights into why this might be happening.

He says that many meetings get scheduled just because everyone's calendars happen to line up, or because managers want to keep tabs on their teams.

If we want to feel more on top of our work and less bogged down by meetings, it's crucial to make sure that the meetings we're having are actually worth our while.

Food For Thought:

10 simple ways to make meetings more productive

1. Boost productivity with walking meetings for a healthy change of pace.

2. Stick to a one-hour limit for meetings to respect everyone's time.

3. Share a clear agenda before meetings to keep discussions on track.

4. Assign specific tasks after meetings to ensure action and progress.

5. Send follow-up information promptly to keep everyone informed.

6. Save time by skipping meetings for simple status updates.

7. Start meetings on time and don't wait for latecomers.

8. Limit meeting size to encourage participation and focus.

9. Respect attendees' time by allowing them to decline when needed.

10. Keep discussions focused to ensure efficient meetings.

Closing Thoughts: 

From my experience, it's clear that while meetings can be helpful for sharing information and discussing important matters, they often end up eating into our precious time and energy.

By being mindful of the pitfalls associated with meetings and implementing some simple strategies, we can make them more effective and productive.

Pro tip : Set clear objectives, stick to agendas, and respect everyone's time to ensure that meetings are valuable and don't leave us feeling like we've wasted our day.

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That's it for this week's edition.

We'll be back in your inbox next week with more curated content on the future of work.

Best regards,

Faiza Yousuf

CPO koi.work