These guidelines can be used to improve the effectiveness of all types of meetings:

• Communicate with the attendees in advance on the purpose of the meeting and the agenda.
• Determine the decision-making process to be used at the meeting and communicate it to attendees.
• Hold fast to the agenda.
• Allocate time to agenda items, and stick to the schedule. End the meeting on time. This has a major impact on the spirits of attendees.
• Promote participation by making it easy and safe. Let people know there’s no penalty for disagreeing. Ask those who are not participating for their opinions on specific issues, especially where you know they have opinions.
• Be an active listener. Take notes. Ask open-ended questions. Summarize what was said.
• Don’t allow personal issues to detract from the discussions. Conflict is acceptable so long as it is positive. People who are angry or alienated can be given private sessions to air their feelings. Allow them to say what they want during the meeting, but enforce the time allocations, and keep the meeting moving.

Your people will judge your leadership effectiveness on how well you lead the meeting and whether the meeting achieved its objectives.

From Partner’s Report—the Monthly Update for CPA Firm Owners, September 2006, p. 5. For subscription information contact Institute of Management & Administration, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5902. One-year subscription $349. 212-244-0360, [email protected].