Complaining about meetings is almost expected in many workplaces. And cancelling meetings in order to “get some work done” makes sense to many of us. So, here is some food for thought:
“what if the only work that matters in a knowledge economy happens when we are together? What if the reason we can’t seem to fix meetings is that we’re mischaracterizing “the work” in the first place?”’ writes Elizabeth Ayer in this article:
Thanks for this insightful article.
My hunch is that there are several reasons, in addition to tech, for people to think that meetings are a waste of their time. They include:
They are! Because many meetings are prepared, run and facilitated poorly.
It is “socially desirable” to complain about meetings. Meetings called by other people, of course. It adds to people’s self-importance. (Their own meetings are, of course, vital).
The absence of management tools to assess meeting effectiveness and efficiency. A strange white blotch on the organisational map.
And probably others…
Mike van der Vijver,
Meeting Designer