Garima Singh - Blog - Mastering the art of Effective Meetings

Have you been in meetings where the group is trying to address a shared problem across more than one engineering team? Despite the shared problem, the meeting often gets derailed with no clear resolution or actions achieved. How do we allow valuable conversation in a safe environment? How do we leverage the frustration or energy of the room for greater good? How to ensure we keep on track and work towards clear actions/next-steps?

Why do these meetings get derailed in the first place?

One of my strengths (or at least I consider it) is strong facilitation skills. Over the course of time when I have observed meetings getting derailed I have noticed some common agents that lead to the failure of the meeting. Understanding and being able to identify these agents enable us to make decisions which can lead to a very different ending. Below is a comprehensive compilation of these agents:

Going down the rabbit-hole 🐰🐰🐰

The term comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice falls into a strange world, symbolising being drawn into unexpected or overwhelming situations. As engineers, we enjoy the surreal challenge of problem-solving—sometimes so much that we lose sight of the original goal in meetings. In such scenarios, we take others on the ride as well. It is important to draw a line of what can be achieved in the meeting vs what would need to be an agreed action that need a follow-up vs what needs to be parked/halted.

Consequence analysis-paralysis 🌀🌀🌀

There are times when the consequences of the problem have led to a fair impact on the team such as burn-out, conflicted situations, etc. The meeting can become a ranting session, with over analysis of the consequences, and how everyone felt. While a meeting (specifically ones involving impact on people) should always begin with sharing impact and setting context either in the meeting agenda or opening minutes, it is equally important to call out when this spirals out of control. This can be achieved in a few ways, we will have a look at when discussing the tools later in the article.

The Well-Meaning bulldozer 🚜🚜🚜

We always have passionate individuals, who can have the tendency to steer the direction of the meeting. Now you need these individuals - they bring their head and heart to the conversation. They always have great inputs and the right intention. They are thoroughly dedicated to ensuring a solution is reached. Despite all the positives, they can sometimes also over-power the conversation and steer in a singular direction. This can be balanced ensuring all voices in the room are heard equally using tools as well, which we would be covering shortly.

Ambiguity around outcomes 😕😕😕

I love the Thoughtworks meme around the shared understanding of requirements. That is perfectly in line which is the reason where meetings get derailed and no shared outcome is achieved. Imagine a room, where everyone is sitting as they are impacted by a shared problem but the outcomes each of the team want out of discussion is different, and they have just through the course of the meeting never really discussed that!

Meeting without agenda 📙📙📙

A meeting must always have an agenda, else you are looking at a headless chicken. Not clear why I should be walking in the meeting, should I be prepared, do I need to forward it to another member of my team with more context, etc.

Meeting with video cameras off 🎥🎥🎥

This is a post-covid world problem. Many of us are in a hybrid working environment and some in completely remote work situations as well. When a majority of the team decides to turn their cameras off, and with access to technology at their fingertips, they ought to get disturbed or multitask. I have definitely been in scenarios myself, where I need a key input from someone, they lost track of the conversation, we need to do a replay of the conversation, so they can answer. A few reps of this situation, and you can see loss of interest catches on like a yawn.

Attribution bias 🛝🛝🛝

The tendency to attribute other people's actions to their character or personality (internal factors) rather than to situational factors. This is one of the most common reasons while many meetings end in failures, and lead to a never ending bias which impacts the success factor of future meetings as well.

Driving towards effective outcome/next-steps

When armed with the information above, we can identify, and de-risk the factors leading to undesirable outcomes. Strong facilitators have their own tools up the sleeves which allow them to keep everyone in check, and work towards desirable outcomes. Based on my experiences and observations of other facilitators, the list below can represent a strong set of tools which act as catalysts we need to run an effective meeting and drive the outcome we are after.

Always have these meetings have an agenda

The conversation you want to drive to reach a solution or next-steps which reach the ultimate solution do not just happen without upfront planning. Take a few minutes to plan an agenda, think through the time each of the agenda items need and see if the right amount of time is allocated to the meeting. Having an agenda stating an unambiguous outcome will allow people to have clarity going into the meeting.

The right people

Most of us have embraced hybrid working environments in the post-covid world. Often the meeting invites get forwarded to more people than truly needed. Ensure you add the audience details in the invite.

Let's have a look at an actual example: We had a new feature (let's say project X) we were supposed to kick-off, build architecture designs and provide estimates for. We needed a set of rapid sessions to allow us to synchronise 2 teams, so they can plan for the work in the upcoming quarter. Below is a screenshot of the agenda and audience details published for the sessions

Talk to the board

This one's my favourite tool. While effective for any meeting specifically for conflict resolution this can do wonders. I mentioned earlier about the detractor of "Consequence analysis-paralysis" and "Attribution bias". These 2 are often the most common detractors that come up in a conflict resolution meeting. The participants can go on and on about the impact on them. While it is extremely important to highlight the consequences so actions ensure that they work on solving the problem and minimise the consequences, too much focus on these consequences can lead to no actual conversation on the resolution itself. Additionally, it is very easy to move from consequences of attribution bias where we start focusing on people's actions rather than the situation at hand. When the focus is a board (a whiteboard, or digital board like miro, trello, etc), and capturing these as points, people in the room move on from one point when it is captured to the other. It keeps the focus on the situation. The "rabbit-hole" is another detractor you can target with this tool. Always have a parking-lot draw on your board in the corner. For all absolutely delightful conversations we love to indulge in but which do not add value to the outcome we want out of today we park them. And assign a name to someone for a follow-up.

Equal Speak

This is yet another excellent tool, and one which must be used consciously. We would like everyone to speak but not necessarily want to put someone in a confrontational situation. This tool is perfect to manage the detractor "Well-Meaning bulldozer". Here are a good set of questions which can be used to keep the conversation flowing and encouraging everyone to participate:

I'd love to hear from someone who hasn't had a chance to share yet. What are your thoughts?
Does anyone who hasn't spoken yet have something they'd like to add?
We've heard a few perspectives so far; does anyone have a different angle or thought on this?
Are there any additional ideas that we might not have considered yet?
Does anyone see this differently or have a unique perspective to share?
Does anyone else have insights or questions about what we've been discussing?
Who feels they could offer a fresh perspective on this?

Breakout groups

For larger meetings, and to collect diverse views it is good to break the group for brainstorming and present back their options. This is very handy when I deal with situations which have higher ambiguity, and we need some blue sky thinking. This allows the "Well-Meaning bulldozer" to be distributed in groups and not let authority bias to set in. Additionally, allows for innovative ideas over groupthink. Now I would call out this is my least favourite tool, the downside and something a facilitator must always know is they can't facilitate each breakout room, and hence the outcomes may vary. When I do use this specific tool, I very consciously set clear expectations before stepping into the breakout room. And I have a clear plan of action on how I will consolidate the outcome from the breakout rooms. If we do not have a clear diverge and merge strategy - breakout rooms can easily lead to a fair amount of chaos.

ELMO - Enough Let's Move On

ELMO, or "Enough, Let's Move On," is a lighthearted yet effective tool for keeping meetings on track. Inspired by Elmo, the lovable red Muppet from Sesame Street, this technique adds a playful element to meeting dynamics, providing a way to prevent discussions from spiraling into unproductive territory. It acknowledges that while passion and engagement are valuable, it's equally important to maintain focus and progress toward the meeting's goals. It is a signal to the group that we are going to pause this conversation and move on. And despite the abrupt nature of the signal, it focuses on the topic and not the person. Any person in the room can pull an elmo.

To leverage the tool effectively, it's important to establish a shared understanding of what ELMO:

Introduce the Concept
Use Visual Cues
Maintain a Positive Tone
Balance the use of ELMO (It should be used judiciously, and not overused)

Lights, Camera, and Action!

Being truly present in a meeting goes beyond just attending; it's about actively engaging with the conversation, showing your commitment to the discussion, and demonstrating respect for the time and effort of everyone involved. If you're having an in-person meeting: close your laptops if you do not require them. If it is a hybrid or remote work environments, turning on your camera and being fully attentive can make a significant difference in the effectiveness and impact of a meeting.

When you turn on your camera, or shut your laptop down in a meeting room - you are signaling to others that you are ready to engage and participate. This simple act can foster a sense of connection, trust, and collaboration among team members. It allows for more genuine interactions, where body language, facial expressions, and visual cues play a crucial role in effective communication. A visible presence can help break down barriers, especially in a remote setting where misunderstandings can easily occur due to a lack of non-verbal communication.

If you are facilitating the meeting, don't hesitate to encourage others to turn on their cameras. Start by setting expectations at the beginning: explain that the meeting will be more productive and engaging if everyone is fully present. Lead by example—keep your camera on, make eye contact, and actively participate. Your actions will set the tone for the rest of the group.

So, next time you're in a meeting, remember: Lights, Camera, and Action!

Fixer-Upper

We should acknowledge the fact that not all meetings will diligently follow the above tools, and we will land into one now-and-then which is ready to go off track. It's OK, there are 2 outcomes you can work towards from here:

Take a deep breath, see if you can step in to help in facilitation without stepping on anyone's shoes. In a situation like this, I start by quickly building a shared board (whiteboard when in person or miro, my favourite tool when in hybrid or online situations). Take 5-10 minutes to set goals, and dive into visualising the subject, so we can get the team to talk to the board.
OR, Call out that we are spiralling, and we need to reconvene with a clear agenda and outcome. Remember sunken cost fallacy, you do not want to continue just because you think you are halfway despite the fact you know you will get nowhere in the time left.

In conclusion...

Meetings should feel energising, not draining. Everyone should feel inspired, motivated and unambiguous. Keep track of how your meetings are going. If they do not feel right, acknowledge that, and work towards making it a better experience for everyone. I have tried to share the detractors to watch out for and the tools to manage them. There is a fair share of useful content out there, and I have tried to share what has worked for me. Remember, Meetings are essential part of our work life, we collaborate, we brainstorm, we make decisions, and we solve problems. Make them count!

Mastering the art of Effective Meetings - A simple guide