Meetings, Not Monologues: A Collaborative Approach. (The Worksheet)

You know whenever you call a meeting at work, all your employees jump up for joy and yell, “Yay! A meeting! I can’t wait!”

Well, no, this probably doesn’t happen. 

Meetings are rarely met with this exuberance. Memes about how awful meetings are get shared every single day. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

It could have been an email

Meetings are not going away; they remain an essential business tool. 

The key is to know the difference between a meeting and a memo. 

A memo is one person spreading a message to others with no conversation. 

A meeting is a congregation of many voices to share, collaborate, and create something new. 

What is not a meeting

Delegating a task list. You can ask somebody to do something in an email, a chat message, or a quick chat. If you also have to teach them how to do it, then you should be at their desk or workplace together. 

A monologue. If you need to tell people something and not hear anything back, send an email. 

Reports. If all you are doing is giving an update without any comments or decisions, then send a document. 

If only one voice is heard, it is not a meeting. 

What is a meeting

A meeting is a group discussion in which everybody present participates. 

A meeting should happen when every voice is heard. 

When a decision needs to be made, everyone should be heard. All the people affected by that decision should take part. 

If something needs to change, everyone should be heard. You may have an idea of how you want to change it, but everybody affected by the change deserves to give their input. 

Is this a meeting?

Reevaluate which meetings you have and how you run them. 

In this week’s worksheet, describe how each meeting should transform the business. 

And list who should be there and, most importantly, why. Understand how the change will affect them, what information they’ll be expected to share, and how you’ll make sure they participate.

What next

A meeting schedule is part of a well-planned strategy. See the email archive for a bonus worksheet for meeting planning. To start 2025 strong, let’s talk about a brand new strategy for your business!