Some excellent points here, Kathy. When I worked in banking, we had big push on meetings and how to run them properly. Several of the points you raised were covered, such as 1) do we really need the meeting and 2) could the meeting be shorter.
I was on the senior team, and we were all encouraged to say no to meetings that we thought we wouldn't get any great benefit from. It was hard to say no at first, but eventually we all became able to decline meetings where we weren't the main stakeholders. It saved a lot of time.
Also, your point around only doing tasks that only you could do is a great way to cut out all the busywork. It's much easier to read minutes or action points from a direct report, than sit through every meeting. Plus, running meetings and projects in your place is development for your team.
Yes, staying "No" to meetings can feel rude and standoffish, but if you start by asking questions and helping people understand why, it can be so empowering and help others, too!
And yes, so many ways to help make your time more efficient and more effective. I didn't even touch on AI but that's likely another tool to leverage to save time and focus on what you can do best.
Some excellent points here, Kathy. When I worked in banking, we had big push on meetings and how to run them properly. Several of the points you raised were covered, such as 1) do we really need the meeting and 2) could the meeting be shorter.
I was on the senior team, and we were all encouraged to say no to meetings that we thought we wouldn't get any great benefit from. It was hard to say no at first, but eventually we all became able to decline meetings where we weren't the main stakeholders. It saved a lot of time.
Also, your point around only doing tasks that only you could do is a great way to cut out all the busywork. It's much easier to read minutes or action points from a direct report, than sit through every meeting. Plus, running meetings and projects in your place is development for your team.
Thanks, Wendy!
Yes, staying "No" to meetings can feel rude and standoffish, but if you start by asking questions and helping people understand why, it can be so empowering and help others, too!
And yes, so many ways to help make your time more efficient and more effective. I didn't even touch on AI but that's likely another tool to leverage to save time and focus on what you can do best.
Crikey yes. My brain was back in the 90s when I wrote my reply so I didn't even think of that!