Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
facebook
Twitter
RSS
Log in
Register
Search Search
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2019/3/4-contrarian-tips-run-better-meetings?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdNMU5qWXlOVGt3T0RFdyIsInQiOiJ4RmlMT3ptQzgxT… 1/8
12/30/2019 4 contrarian tips to run better meetings | The Enterprisers Project
Some days, getting rid of meetings entirely seems like a great idea. And indeed, reducing meetings is
sometimes in order. However, “a world without meetings is much more problematic, as communication,
coordination, and consensus decision-making would suffer,” says Dr. Steven Rogelberg, chancellor’s
professor and director of organizational science at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
A better answer is to improve the quality of meetings, using any number of methods from walking and
standing meetings to building in breaks. For his book, The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You
Can Lead Your Team To Peak Performance, Rogelberg combed through relevant research to unearth
some of the more unique or counterintuitive methods for managing and running more effective
meetings.
[ Are you known as a leader with high or low EQ? See our related story, 10 things leaders with
emotional intelligence never do. ]
The Enterprisers’ Project talked to Rogelberg about what research tells us about unproductive meeting
practices and four new approaches that IT leaders can consider to make meetings better – for themselves
and their teams.
Rogelberg suggests IT leaders include meeting performance questions on employee engagement surveys
or within 360-degree assessments, or survey their teams themselves. “Without such information,
organizations – and more importantly, individual leaders – are left in the dark about whether their
meetings are working,” says Rogelberg. “In turn, they remain blind to employee suggestions on how to
improve meetings.”
IT leaders can also pursue formal meeting skills and facilitation training. “You can’t truly know what
We use cookies on our websites to deliver our online services. Details about how we use
excellent meeting behaviors look like if you don’t have a standard of sorts to compare yourself to,” ×
cookies and how you may disable them are set out in our Privacy Statement. By using this
Rogelberg says.
website you agree to our use of cookies.
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2019/3/4-contrarian-tips-run-better-meetings?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdNMU5qWXlOVGt3T0RFdyIsInQiOiJ4RmlMT3ptQzgxT… 2/8
12/30/2019 4 contrarian tips to run better meetings | The Enterprisers Project
One problem with large meetings is revealed in an experiment conducted by a French professor of
agricultural engineering: Volunteers were instructed to pull on a rope as hard as they could, but they did
so in groups of different sizes. Results showed that as group sizes increased, collective performance
decreased. Individuals in dyads performed to 93 percent of their ability, those in triads pulled to 85
percent of ability, and individuals in groups of eight pulled to 49 percent of their ability.
“These findings have been replicated in a host of different contexts,” says Rogelberg. “Taken together, it
is clear that we pull less when we know others are around to pull. We don’t give our all.”
In the meeting context, the key is to invite just the right number of attendees by thinking deliberately
about who needs to attend. There are also some best practices from meeting literature about ideal
meeting sizes, Rogelberg says. One is the 8- 18-1800 rule: When solving a problem or making a
decision, keep it to eight people or fewer; for brainstorming, 18 or fewer; and for information
dissemination or rallying the troops, as many as 1800 or more.
“From my experience, seven or fewer is the ideal group size for decision-making and problem-solving,”
says Rogelberg. “Eight to 12 attendees is doable if the leader has outstanding facilitation skills. For idea
generation, agenda setting, and huddles, fewer than fifteen individuals is ideal.”
In the DevOps and startup world, many people like the two-pizza rule: Workgroups should be small
enough that two pizzas will feed the group.
One of the most counterintuitive meeting tips Rogelberg offers: Less can be more when it comes to
talking. “As crazy as it might sound on the surface, there are a host of techniques that cultivate silence to
create dynamic, engaging, and rich meetings,” Rogelberg says. He adds that silence can be particularly
valuable in generating or evaluating new ideas.
More than 80 studies have been conducted comparing the brainstorming results of two types of meeting
scenarios: one in which attendees generated ideas out loud and interactively, and one in which the
participants generated ideas to the same problem by recording them on paper. The participants who
interacted during the meeting tend to produce significantly fewer and lower-quality ideas than the non-
talking attendees.
One technique IT leaders can try is “brainwriting.” “Essentially, it involves silently sharing written ideas
in meetings around a particular topic,” Rogelberg explains. “Attendees participate in parallel, and unlike
most meetings, where individual contributions are readily apparent, there is a level of anonymity
involved.” One recent study found that brainwriting groups produced 20 percent more ideas and 42
percent more original ideas compared to traditional brainstorming approaches. CIOs can experiment
with brainwriting in a number of forms, depending on their needs.
The majority
website you of workplace
agree meetings
to our use are exactly one hour long, despite the fact that meetings vary
of cookies.
greatly in purpose, scope, modality, and size. Science has now proven the old axiom that work expands
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2019/3/4-contrarian-tips-run-better-meetings?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdNMU5qWXlOVGt3T0RFdyIsInQiOiJ4RmlMT3ptQzgxT… 3/8
12/30/2019 4 contrarian tips to run better meetings | The Enterprisers Project
to fill the time available. In one study, management researchers asked college students to complete a
fixed set of simple math problems, giving some “excess time” and others just the right amount. “Lo and
behold, those in the excess time condition took significantly longer to complete the problems. Similar
sets of findings have been found in other populations, from pulp mill workers to NASA scientists,” says
Rogelberg, noting that the same can happen in a meeting.
To guard against this, CIOs can make an informed guess as to necessary length based on meeting goals,
invitee list, and analysis of past meetings, inviting others to weigh in as well. Once they have a good
estimate, they might also consider shaving another 5 to 10 percent off that time.
The Yerkes–Dodson law, which maps the relationship between stress and performance, established that
performance is optimal when some level of stress exists – not too much or too little. By reining in the
meeting time slightly, IT leaders may introduce a “healthy amount of stress,” says Rogelberg. This
promotes task-related focus, stimulation, energy, and engagement, he says.
“Don’t be wary of scheduling meetings with odd lengths or at unusual times,” he adds. “For example, a
48-minute meeting is just fine if that is the right fit.” The survey research company called TINYpulse,
for example, starts a daily staff meeting at 8:48 a.m. – and company leaders say folks are rarely late to it.
MORE ON MEETINGS
Ten- and fifteen-minute meetings are often good options as well. “These types of meetings are common
in high-stakes workplaces like military, emergency, and hospital settings,” Rogelberg says. “Short
meetings are often used to debrief or actively reflect on an event or occurrence. Research shows that
these types of meetings can enhance future individual and team performance. Plus, short meetings align
with research on limited human attention spans and fatigue.”
[ Read our related article: Stand-up meetings: 5 reasons to kiss traditional meetings goodbye. ]
SUBSCRIBE
Privacy Statement
Related content
We use cookies on our websites to deliver our online services. Details about how we use
×
cookies and how you may disable them are set out in our Privacy Statement. By using this
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2019/3/4-contrarian-tips-run-better-meetings?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdNMU5qWXlOVGt3T0RFdyIsInQiOiJ4RmlMT3ptQzgxT… 4/8
12/30/2019 4 contrarian tips to run better meetings | The Enterprisers Project
5 TED Talks to inspire leaders in 2020
3 ways to improve collaboration in IT: Charlotte CIO of the Year winners share
IT Strategy
Tags: Productivity Hacks
Leadership
Stephanie Overby is an award-winning reporter and editor with more than twenty years of professional
journalism experience. For the last decade, her work has focused on the intersection of business and
technology. She lives in Boston, Mass.
» More about me
We use cookies on our websites to deliver our online services. Details about how we use
×
cookies and how you may disable them are set out in our Privacy Statement. By using this
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2019/3/4-contrarian-tips-run-better-meetings?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdNMU5qWXlOVGt3T0RFdyIsInQiOiJ4RmlMT3ptQzgxT… 5/8
12/30/2019 4 contrarian tips to run better meetings | The Enterprisers Project
Related Topics
10 AI trends to watch in 2020
Submitted By Stephanie Overby
December 30, 2019
What’s happening in artificial intelligence in the year ahead? Look for modeling at the edge, new
attention to data governance, and continued talent wars, among key AI trends.
Read Article
5 TED Talks to inspire leaders in 2020
Submitted By Carla Rudder
December 30, 2019
Ready to shake up your leadership style in 2020? These inspiring talks may improve your approach to
motivating teams, nurturing creativity, and preparing the next generation of leaders.
Read Article
3 ways to improve collaboration in IT: Charlotte CIO of the Year winners share
Submitted By Ginny Hamilton
December 27, 2019
How do you create an environment where colleagues proactively seek each other out to help solve
problems? These collaboration approaches from award-winning CIOs may help.
Read Article
x
We use cookies on our websites to deliver our online services. Details about how we use
×
Email Capture
cookies and how you may disable them are set out in our Privacy Statement. By using this
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2019/3/4-contrarian-tips-run-better-meetings?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdNMU5qWXlOVGt3T0RFdyIsInQiOiJ4RmlMT3ptQzgxT… 6/8
12/30/2019 4 contrarian tips to run better meetings | The Enterprisers Project
Keep up with the latest thoughts, strategies, and insights from CIOs & IT leaders.
SUBSCRIBE
Privacy Statement
The opinions expressed on this website are those of each author, not of the author's employer or of Red Hat.
The Enterprisers Project aspires to publish all content under a Creative Commons license but may not be able
to do so in all cases. You are responsible for ensuring that you have the necessary permission to reuse any
work on this site. Red Hat and the Red Hat logo are trademarks of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the United
States and other countries.
A note on advertising: The Enterprisers Project does not sell advertising on the site or in any of its
newsletters.
Connect
Follow us @4Enterprisers on Twitter
RSS Feed
SUBSCRIBE
We use cookies on our websites to deliver our online services. Details about how we use
×
cookies and how you may disable them are set out in our Privacy Statement. By using this
facebook
website you agree to our use of cookies.
Twitter
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2019/3/4-contrarian-tips-run-better-meetings?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdNMU5qWXlOVGt3T0RFdyIsInQiOiJ4RmlMT3ptQzgxT… 7/8
12/30/2019 4 contrarian tips to run better meetings | The Enterprisers Project
RSS
Log in
Register
We use cookies on our websites to deliver our online services. Details about how we use
×
cookies and how you may disable them are set out in our Privacy Statement. By using this
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2019/3/4-contrarian-tips-run-better-meetings?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdNMU5qWXlOVGt3T0RFdyIsInQiOiJ4RmlMT3ptQzgxT… 8/8