Instead of a Meeting, Have a Conversation

Instead of a meeting have a conversation

Something urgent has come up!

Oh, there is a problem to be addressed.

Perhaps, there is a decision to be made.

Quick, schedule a meeting!!!

Is this the standard reaction at your organization?

When an issue needs attention, do you reach out to the appropriate individual to address it? Or do you immediately knee-jerk and schedule a group meeting?

Meeting Instead of Talking

I recently wrote about the average worker having too many meetings on their calendar.

In fact, most people attend sixty-two meetings a month. (!?!)

Many of these meetings shouldn’t happen in the first place:

  • Repeat Meetings – Standing meetings that have long outlived their usefulness
  • Last-minute Meetings – Scheduled the same day or even within a few hours
  • Meetings with no Purpose – Meetings with no topic or agenda (I’m sure you’ve been to a few of these…)

“Bad managers call meetings instead of having conversations.” (Tweet this Quote)

They use meetings as an excuse for their disorganization. They do it to procrastinate on taking action and making decisions. Some managers even call meetings as their own social outlet.

Yet, meetings are often a distraction from the true conversation that needs to take place. And instead of a meeting, a simple phone call or chat can get the job done.

When did leaders become too lazy, or afraid, to talk to people?

Pick up the phone. (gasp!)
Go see someone in person. (eek!)
Make a decision. (arg!)

In many cases, you can resolve an issue in the less time than it takes you to schedule a meeting.

Hold Off on that Meeting

There are many actions you should take before you call a meeting and take up everyone’s time.

The next time you find yourself ready to blast a meeting invite out to half a dozen people, ask yourself, “Could this topic be accomplished by speaking to an individual?”

Hold off on that meeting, and instead… go have a conversation.

Question: Which of your meetings would be better served by an individual conversation? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

5 thoughts on “Instead of a Meeting, Have a Conversation

  1. One person’s “conversation” is another person’s “interruption”. How can I minimize ‘drop-in management’ while also minimizing the awful kinds of meetings you’re describing?

  2. Talking to each other is underrated. Meetings are mostly tick box exercises as inspiration and solutions seldom book themselves into any meetings. Frequent small catchup over coffee works better for organic solutions to grow. Most meetings are sterile anyway. Idea boards are good to meet around and can be updated anytime by anyone and totally a visual radiator accessible to all and are great discussion point to gather around. Hope that helps.

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