Do you know how to run incredibly effective virtual meetings? [ Leadership Insight ]

Foreign welcome to this Leadership Insights episode of the Enlightened Executive, where your personal evolution sparks your leadership evolution. In this episode, we're going to share 10 tips to run Incredibly Effective Virtual Meetings well, here's what I've been hearing a lot lately. Effective virtual meetings, if they exist, I've certainly never attended one. If this was your thought process when you read the title of this, I get it. Obviously, with the ongoing challenges of COVID 19 and remote working, it's more important than ever to run effective virtual meetings. Teams need leaders who can facilitate impactful meetings that create community and accountability across time zones. And yet, if you haven't been intentional about it, you're going to find people checking out multitasking during virtual meetings at an alarming rate. We're tired of it. And I'm not just talking about team members. Leaders do it too. According to a Harvard Business Review study, managers who multitask during meetings are 2.2 times more likely to have their direct reports also multitask in meetings. My own team is virtual and I've been facilitating leadership development programs virtually for years, so I know it works and I know it doesn't. And here are my best virtual meeting tips for executives. Number one Create connection from the outset. When time's tight and you're separated by screens, of course it's tempting to dive right into the work, but getting right to work is actually less effective in the long run. As we've heard in the media so many times, people are feeling anxiety and having emotional responses to current events. Don't ignore that. Giving people some space to share their current state of mind creates connection and demonstrates you're a leader who has heart. I like to do this by asking for a weather report from each person, just a one to two minute update on how they're doing and how they're feeling right now. Or you can ask what's been most helpful to you in weathering the current state of affairs? Or what's one tip you can share with your colleagues on managing work from home? You probably get a range of responses, and if there are some that are exceptionally anxious, that's to be expected. The best thing you can do right now is hold space and cultivate empathy and let people know you care about them as human beings. Number two Use this as an opportunity to create new ground rules for your virtual meetings. I found so many leaders just switched from in person to virtual without having a discussion about some new ground rules that would be best to support your meetings. Without this conversation, it's not surprising that many team members show up without turning on their cameras or paying close attention. Since more of your team is working remotely, you'll be running more meetings virtually, of course, and now is the time to put these rules in place, even if you haven't done it already. A few Virtual meeting best practices Default to using video cameras as a standard practice only allow phone in dial in if there's an extenuating circumstance. Let your team members know how important effective communication and connection is when you can see each other's faces. That said, being on video all day can be exhausting, so some companies are instituting a no Camera Fridays to create the right balance. Think about what might work best for you and your team. Practice the art of brevity. Include a 2 minute share rule unless giving longer updates. And remember that silence means alignment, so team members have to speak up and share their thoughts if there's something that they're disagreeing with. Don't be shy about asking for clarification and really encourage people to use the chat box if necessary. Number three Decide as a group how you're going to handle tangents and derailers. When we're meeting in person, it's easier to read body language and realize, oops, I've been ranting about this Instagram algorithm for seven minutes now. But when we're in a virtual meeting, it's harder to read those cues and we're all a bit more easily distracted. So invite your team to collaborate and agree on the best way to deal with tangents and derailers. One team I worked with had a code gesture of holding up two fingers like bunny rabbit ears. This meant I'm checking in. Is this on topic for our current meeting objective? Or are we possibly going down a rabbit hole? Or you can simply make it okay to ask how does this relate to our meeting target? Have this conversation on the right way to check in on alignment during your ground rules meeting so you can make sure you're getting started off on the right foot. Number four Set the tone of virtual meetings by reminding everyone that being supportive team member means being present, so it's hard to feel supported by your teammate if they're not paying attention to your presentation or not listening to the information you're sharing. So staying present in a virtual setting can be especially hard, but it's how we show our coworkers that we're there for them in moments of crisis. Showing up, contributing to conversations, supporting each other. That's how teams survive. Number five Be incredibly clear about the goal of your meeting we've all emerged from a meeting that made us wonder what was the point of that? Since we need to work extra hard to retain attention in virtual meetings, it's even more important to define exceptionally clear goals for your meeting. We also need to communicate that goal at the outset. Some examples of Clear Meeting Goals at the end of this meeting, we'll feel aligned about how to handle supply chain issues, or at the end of this meeting we'll have clear communication guidelines on how to engage our team about the changes we're making due to coronavirus and where do we share those incredibly clear meeting goals in the meeting Invite in the meeting agenda at the opening of the meeting and at the end of the meeting to check in and summarize how well your target was met. Number 6 use the dis framework to define the goal of your meeting. Not sure about the purpose for a specific agenda item? Use this DIS framework to be clear about what kind of conversation you'd like to have. Is it one that's considered? Decide the team is going to make a decision about which agency to hire or which supplier to use or healthcare benefits, or their thoughts on a new marketing campaign or s Share feedback or key information you're passing on feedback from other sources, what the diversity consultant said, or how the client responded to the first draft. The best virtual meetings are clear at the outset so that participants know what type of conversation they'll be having and then they know how you want them to participate. Number seven Call on attendees to increase engagement. When I attended Harvard Law, my professors used the Socratic method in the classroom. It was a great motivator to come prepared in case it was your lucky day and the professor called on you. Likewise, I believe gently. But randomly calling on meeting attendees keeps everyone engaged and paying attention. A few basic question ideas what are your thoughts on that, Sarah, or do you agree with those findings? Paul Kevin, what do your numbers show? Number eight if you know some attendees will struggle to speak up, really encourage them to use the chat box, reminding meeting attendees that the chat box is a perfectly acceptable space to share some thoughts. It's especially important if there are certain people that monopolize the conversation or the conversation's gone on a tangent. It can be hard to verbally speak up in a virtual meeting, so sometimes popping a comment in the chat box can be easier. But of course you want to just make sure the meeting organizer or someone is monitoring the chat and sharing chat comments within the group and asking people to elaborate. Number nine in an info heavy meeting, presenters should tell the attendees what to look and listen for. When someone makes a 20 minute presentation filled with graphs and charts and a year's worth of findings, it's incredibly easy for the meeting attendees to check out. Presenters can engage the audience by telling them exactly what feedback they want and not the generic I'd like your feedback. Or let me know if you have any questions. Ask each presenter to ask a targeted, specific question that will engage the rest of the team. Here are a few examples. We're going to share two ideas and I'd like to hear if you have any additional ideas that could work or what potential challenges do you see with the path we're on. I think we vetted everything, but we could use a double check. Number 10 know that your presence matters. Virtual meetings are no exception. During stressful times, you need to connect with your team more often than you might think. Your executive presence matters just as much on Zoom as it does in the conference room, probably even more. Some leaders I've worked if have doubled or tripled their contact with their team since the coronavirus. The absence of communication. People just make stuff up. So be there, be visible and show that you care. Even if you have as much uncertainty as the rest of your team. Share what you know and be transparent about what you don't. And make it a point to connect at least once a week. So are you looking for leadership development for high potentials in a virtual format? We do that. Get in touch with us@susandrum.com we'd love to help you. And if you like this episode and want more leadership insights like these, hit the subscribe and the like button. We always appreciate our five star reviews. Let's lead the way. Hope you enjoyed today's episode and I'd like to point you to the next important step. Hit the subscribe button and the bell to get notified when we release new content. I'll see you on the next episode of the Enlightened Executive.