Every Meeting. Every Day.

I heard someone teach recently that every successful meeting requires three things:

• Relationship-building
• Information-sharing
• Action-taking

We’ve all been to meetings that included relationship building to the point that someone will invariably complain about Kum Ba Yah moments and say, “This is a waste of our time.”  We’ve all been to meetings that offered information we could have received in an email.  And we’ve all been to meetings where nothing happens and maybe “nothing ever happens.”

My new goal is to promote these three things at meetings.  And it occurs to me that there are also three things I need – personally – every work day:

• At least one future-oriented conversation with someone about the way things could be.
• Tasks I can check off – preferably a long list of emails, snail mails, and/or phone calls.
• Something active – for both my brain and my body.

What do you need for a successful work day?  And what are your work meetings like these days? Do you find that meeting facilitators and moderators are providing what’s needed for you to move your organization’s mission forward?

Leadership training is one of my favorite things.  How about you?

Image is from the Exploding Light Bulbs collection by photographer and chemist Jon Smith.