Do you get invited to a lot of meetings? Does it seem like you spend more time in meeting rooms than at your desk getting work done or in the field building customer relationships? Is there any way to get out of some of these meetings? Yes you can get out of some meetings by only attending the relevant ones for your job or department. However, it will require a little time upfront to verify which meetings are relevant for you to attend. Once you know which ones are relevant, you only agree to attend those, send substitutes, or decline others. This way you save valuable time by not being in meetings that are not directly relevant to what you are doing.
To begin with, the next time you get a meeting invitation, verify whether you are a "to" recipient or a "copy". People listed as copy are usually included for informational purposes only. If you are a copied recipient, then verify you are not expected to attend with the person who sent the meeting invitation. ! If you are expected to attend, check to see if someone else from your department was also invited. If more than one person from the same department is invited, perhaps only one needs to attend the meeting and report back on the results. If you are not expected to attend, you may forget about the invitation. If you are not expected to attend or do not plan to attend, but would like to know meeting results then ask to be copied on minutes.
If you are expected to attend, ask how the meeting is relevant to your job or department. If explanation shows meeting is not relevant, then you can courteously decline and ask to be removed from future invites for meetings related to this purpose. If meeting appears relevant, then ask more questions to decide if you or someone else should attend. If you need to attend because of expertise you can provide, then determine if you may attend only the portion of the meeting in which your presentation, advice, or opinion is necessary.! If you were expected to attend all or part of the meeting, b! ut must decline the meeting due to schedule or relevance, be sure to explain why you will not be attending the meeting to the person who sent the invitation or the meeting organizer. If your attendance is important for an agenda topic, the organizer may choose to change the meeting time or revise the agenda so you can be in a meeting at a more convenient time.
If you decide someone from your department should attend the meeting and you were the only one invited, determine if you are best qualified to attend or if someone else is better suited to the meeting purpose. If you are the best person to attend, then determine what you must move on your schedule or if you can request a different time for the meeting. If you are not the member of your department that best meets the purpose of meeting, then check to see if the person best suited can attend. If they can attend, notify the meeting organizer of the change in attendance and the new contact information. If the best perso! n can not attend at the desired meeting time, decide between the two of you who will contact the meeting organizer about replacing your name as attendee and possibly changing meeting time to accommodate department representation.
Doing a little research on the meeting purpose prior to attending to see if its purpose is relevant to your job or department, will save you time in meetings because you will attend only meetings where your attendance is key to the best meeting results. With less time in meetings where you are not needed or shortened time in meetings where attendance is necessary, you will have more time at your desk getting projects done or being in the field working with customers.
Shirley Fine Lee has considerable training and expertise in leading effective meetings and projects, as well as training others within the corporate world to be able to do the same. Her book, "R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard's Approach", is a much-needed guide to planning and c! onducting meetings so that they are as productive, effectual, ! and smoo thly run as possible. Find out more about her, her books, and learning options she provides on her website.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий