When Is It Necessary to Call a Meeting?
Managing meetings effectively is a core skill that every manager should develop. Although there's no mystery to what makes a meeting productive, it can take practice and attention to detail to become an effective meeting leader. It begins with knowing when to call a meeting, and why. How many should you hold? How often? And how long should they last?
Following are eight suggestions for helping you determine when it's necessary to hold a status meeting:
- Can you justify it in a sentence? Can you describe the purpose of the meeting in a single sentence? If you can, by all means go ahead and schedule the meeting. If you can't, stop right there because you'll only be wasting everyone's time. Instead, find another way to discuss the issue, perhaps by using email or Slack.
- Do you need a consensus? If you need to make a decision that requires a consensus, all key company stakeholders will need to be present. Examples of issues that might require a consensus include: appointing officers, issuing shares, making by-laws, appointing an auditor, make banking arrangements, etc. (If you're newly incorporated and this is your first meeting, the directors must call an annual meeting not later than 15 months after the last meeting, and not more than six months after the financial year-end.)
- If it's a long and important project. Long and important projects tend to require meetings at various stages: at the beginning, as the project plan is coming together, and at regular intervals while the work is being done. Toward the end of the project, depending on its size, daily meetings could be necessary.
- If you're managing people. Many bosses call weekly staff meetings, in addition to weekly one-on-one meetings, with their direct reports. These standing meetings provide a chance to review the work accomplished in the previous week, and to look ahead to what will be accomplished in the coming week. Sometimes there's a lot to talk about, sometimes not so much, so try to be as organized as possible and to not let the meeting drag on longer than is necessary.
- Is it an important client? Important clients require special attention. Many companies, especially professional services firms, make presentations to clients: sales presentations, kickoff meetings, interim status meetings, and final presentations. If you want to nourish your ongoing relationship with an important client, it's important to hold periodic meetings.
- To achieve clarity. Sometimes email, phone calls, and one-on-one meetings with individual group members only serve to create more confusion. If this sounds like something you're going through, it's time to get everyone in the same room and achieve some clarity. If certain key members can't make the meeting, have them join via videoconference.
- When the problems are adding up. If problems are beginning to add up and feed off each other—a project is getting off course, interpersonal conflicts are escalating, or general confusion is beginning to reign—it's probably time to call a meeting to reset.
- In cases of emergency. You should schedule a meeting to address a crisis, whether internal or external. Such meetings are often arranged with very little notice, but attendance should be mandatory. If the emergency meeting conflicts with another appointment, the emergency meeting typically takes precedence.
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