As the meeting organizer, it is important for you to think about who needs to be at the meeting.

Focus on the invite list. Because the attendee list is so important. People always ask, why was I invited to this meeting?

Do you want to plan a meeting that doesn’t suck? First, you need to make sure you invite the right people. By considering the factors outlined below, you can create a more effective and purposeful meeting. Doing this will help in making sure the right individuals will be present. Because they will contribute to the dialogue, and will help make decisions.

recent studies have shown that excessive meetings are a drain on company resources.

Too many people are invited to attend too many meetings in a day. I read that the average worker, will attend eight (8) hours of meetings in a typical week. Certainly, this is what leads to meeting suck. In fact, we have just read this article in Forbes on this topic the other day.

we are here to challenge you to plan a meeting that doesn’t suck. We know you can do it.

You will do it. You will get started soon, just finish reading this article.

When you think about who will need to attend the meeting, what do you find? Obviously, it is important for you to invite the right people.

• Relevance: Invite individuals whose presence is directly related to the meeting’s purpose. Consider their expertise or perspective. Is it necessary for achieving the meeting’s goals?
• Decision-makers: Ensure that decision-makers or individuals with authority on the discussed topics are invited. This will help in making decisions promptly and avoids the need for multiple follow-up meetings. Everyone hates to go to a meeting to confirm topics just discussed and decided in the last meeting.
• Inclusivity: Strive for inclusivity but, you must be mindful not to invite unnecessary participants. Include those who can and will contribute meaningfully and benefit from the discussions.
• Roles and Responsibilities: Invite individuals who have a direct role or responsibility related to the meeting’s agenda. This ensures that the right people are present to address specific issues.
• Prioritize: Trim the invite list, if needed. Prioritize based on the importance of attendees to the meeting’s goals. Ensure that you invite essential stakeholders.
• Communication Channels: Think about this. Can the meeting topic be more efficiently handled? Particularly, would an alternate communication channel be more effective? Surely, meeting fatigue could be reduced if we actively eliminate unneeded meetings. Is it possible for the meeting topic to be shared with an email, report, or collaborative document instead of a meeting? As we shared in the first post on this topic, not all discussions require a face-to-face or virtual meeting.
• Size of the Group: Keep the group size manageable. Regardless of topic, a smaller group is often more focused and productive. Simultaneously, large meetings can be challenging to manage and may result in less engagement from participants.
• Availability: When planning, check the availability of potential participants. Of course, choosing a time that accommodates key stakeholders will maximize attendance and engagement.
• Follow-up Mechanisms: For those who may not need to attend the meeting but should stay informed, establish clear follow-up mechanisms such as meeting minutes, summaries, or updates.

You must remember, if you keep the invite list tight and use the tips above to plan a meeting, you may just plan a meeting that doesn’t suck.

Even when a topic may not seem to be 100% in your lane, it can be useful to attend.

Ask the meeting organizer.

Why was I invited? What are you looking for me to do? Do they really need you or can someone else from your team attend? No matter what the response, Please, give the benefit of the doubt to the meeting organizer. They are probably trying. They might be a relic from the days of “being invited to a meeting means you are important”, and “Everyone wants to grow up and be a part of my meetings”. Regardless, if you must attend, you must attend.

Or, perhaps you were invited because of your boss?

An invite to a new meeting, might be because your boss trying to get you a little more visibility. Maybe, they have invited you to help you to grow. In other words, by including you in a meeting, they could be preparing you for a project you haven’t been briefed on yet.

Or, maybe it is a meeting your boss cannot attend, so you will go on their behalf.

Okay, so you are invited, instead of or on behalf of your boss? When you are, you need to ask your boss how you can prepare.

If you don’t know why you got the invite. Just ask.

It could be you aren’t actually supposed to be going. Maybe, and this occasionally happens, the organizer meant to invite one of the other people named Sam in the organization.

Two things you can apply, when looking at your calendar to help make sure your day has less suck.

Number one. As a meeting attendee, check to see who else is invited to attend an upcoming meeting.

First, check to see who the meeting organizer is also inviting. Given the list, do you really need to be there? When in doubt, ask the organizer. Talk to them. tell them you are trying to streamline your calendar. Are you a critical component? Do they need you there for every meeting or just some of them? If you ask them, maybe you and another team member can alternate attending. Do what you can to make your case. If you hit a brick wall. It’s okay, shift your focus to meetings you are leading or organizing.

Number two. As a meeting organizer are there invitees you can eliminate based on their role?

Take a look at the invite list and see how you might make changes. For example, keeping a meeting to the critical, and key decision makers can help streamline decision making and allows decision makers to be productive in their own role.

Love this topic and looking for more info? We got you. Consider it covered. This is post 2 in the series. Most Status Meetings Suck. Stay tuned for the third post. 

To check out the first post click here