Why Meetings Fail – Make yours succeed by avoiding these traps:
The following are common causes of failure of meetings:
- Purpose of the meeting not clear
- Needs and interests of participants and powerbrokers not understood or ignored
- Agenda not prepared and communicated
- Lack of participation by majority or domination by few
- Poor time management
- Lack of meeting etiquette:
o Not raising hand before speaking
o Being brief
o Communicating calmly
o Respecting different views and being open to new ideas
o Emphatic listening and avoiding side conversations
o Compromising self-interest for the greater good
- Lack of finalisation of actions, allocations of responsibilities, agreements on timeframes and monitoring mechanisms
- Not recording minutes of the meeting
- Lack of follow up
