Meetings are testing grounds for leaders. This is where you can show your strengths and generate ideas. It can also be a time of boredom and frustration for meeting attendees. Fortunately, by following a few simple tips you can keep your meetings productive.

Here are some strategies to remember when running a meeting.

Have a Written Agenda

Meetings can feel unproductive when they get derailed. An attendee can bring up a related, but irrelevant topic and the discussion completely shifts gears. Now you’ve lost control of the room. Having a written agenda and sticking to it can fix this common meeting problem. Not only will you and attendees stay on track, you will also be able to make sure you get through every key point. You can also specify a certain number of minutes per topic. Doing so will keep your meeting running smoothly and keep your attendees interested throughout the meeting.  

Keep it Short

Let’s face it, no one wants to sit in on meetings for most of the day. Employees have other work tasks and, frankly, many consider meetings to be a tedious part of working life. To keep attendees engaged and happy throughout the meeting, keep it short. Keeping meetings under an hour is best for most topics. And once your specified time is up, let them go. Sticking to the agenda and ending the meeting at the specified time is a great way to show your attendees you respect their time.

Encourage Participation

Productive meetings take attendees’ viewpoints into consideration. People like to know their ideas are heard and allowing them the chance to do so is a great confidence building strategy. Encouraging participation also leads to better meeting outcomes. Attendees who have contributed their opinion are more confident in pursuing those goals once the meeting is over. It is important to be as inclusive as possible. If you notice there is someone who rarely speaks up in meetings, reach out to them beforehand and ask that they contribute their opinion. This way, they will have time to prepare.

Make an Action Plan

People can interpret the same conversation several different ways. The same holds true for meetings. While one attendee understands a certain task as having priority, another attendee might believe a different task is to be completed first. To minimize these types of misunderstandings, it is important to make an action plan and follow up. Make a list of key tasks and their priorities and send them out via email after the meeting has concluded.

Meetings don’t have to be inefficient. With a few preparations, you can run engaging and productive meetings that yield great results.

Every job today demands top notch communication skills. George Bernard Shaw once said, “The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” You may have been on the receiving end of this illusion once or twice. Developing communication skills is a great career booster.

Types of Communication

Let’s first examine the different types of communication. Often, when people think of communication, they automatically thinking of speaking. However, there are other types of communication as well.

Verbal skills are what you say and how you say it. This could be in front of a group of people or one on one. Brushing up on public speaking skills should be on your professional “to do” list. Look for comfortable opportunities as a starting point. There are also groups, such as Toastmasters, which focus on improving members public speaking skills.

Listening skills is often an overlooked type of communication. Instead of waiting for your turn to talk, focus on listening to understand the speaker. This activity leads to better communication all the way around.

Today’s jobs require good writing skills. Writing to make a lasting impression is essential for any professional career. Brushing up on writing skills generally involves getting feedback from others with a strong writing background. It also involves paying close attention to grammar, punctuation and proof reading.

Body Language

Body language can be considered a type of communication. Body language plays an important role in our everyday communication. It is not only limited to face to face communications, but extends other communications as well. For example, customer service phone training often involves participants practicing a smile over the phone because it can be heard on the other end.

Paying attention to your body language during critical interactions is important. Do you fidget when you are nervous? Do you bite your lip when you want to argue? Even when speaking over the phone, pay close attention to your body language.

Which Communication Type to Use

A hot topic these days is knowing when to use which communication type and how to use it. If you use written communication, will it be in the form of an email, a text or a customer report? Knowing the medium makes a difference. Also, knowing when to talk to someone instead of email or knowing when to meet someone face to face instead of conversing over the phone is becoming more important in today’s professional environment.

Although there are not hard and fast rules for these decisions, growing your emotional IQ will help. Emotional IQ means understanding your emotional self-awareness in dealing with others. Strengthening your emotional intelligence will, in turn, strengthen your interaction with others regardless of the type of medium you use.

When you develop effective communication skills, you gain control over what you can achieve and how you are perceived. This transferable skill sets you up for success regardless of your job.

Whether you are looking for a job or establishing yourself as a leader in your organization, your social media presence counts. Good resumes are a first step, but that alone doesn’t cut it anymore. Is your social media working for you or against you? Using your online presence to bolster your career will get attention.

The Need for Online Presence
Online presence is no longer optional. It has the ability to support your personal brand and demonstrate industry knowledge. This position authority provides you the opportunity to attract employers and leaders to you.
Recruiters and employers are looking for job seekers who have a diverse and compelling online footprint. Take a moment to Google your name. If little to no search results pop up, you may be passed over for someone who has a vibrant online story.

Social Proof
Employers often will Google your name before contacting you. This helps them validate your resume and experience. Any discrepancies will raise red flags so make sure all your information matches.

Improving Your Online Reputation
If you discover you do not have much of an online presence, don’t worry, you can get started now.
LinkedIn is a great tool to establish your subject matter expertise, share professional opinions and influence others. You can even use this platform as your professional blog. Articles you post on LinkedIn are displayed in the posts section of your profile. These posts can be shared with your connections and followers. An added bonus is that each post is searchable-both on and off of LinkedIn. Don’t let content creation keep you from using this tool. Write articles based on keywords from your profile and resume.

Did you know if you write a book review on Amazon, it can be used as a search tool? Find great professional books you have read and post a meaningful review about it. You can write your professional opinion whether you agree or disagree with an author.

Employers utilize the tools at their disposable to get the best candidates and promote leaders. The best candidates have squeaky-clean online footprints, so be diligent in building and safeguarding your online reputation.

You have been asked to take on a leadership role. Now what?

The transition into leadership can seem daunting, but don’t let yourself become overwhelmed. If you have been asked to lead that means others recognize your potential and believe you are the best person for the job. There will be adjustments, and things may get a little awkward before they get better, but you can rock this transition!

As you transition into leadership, here are some pointers to remember.

You will make mistakes.

Mistakes are inevitable. We are all human. For example, you may delegate the wrong task to the wrong person or you may say the wrong thing in a meeting, but don’t let that stop you from making progress. What’s important is that you own your mistakes, rectify the situation, and keep moving.  Learning from mistakes is a crucial step in learning how to be a great leader.

You will not have all the answers.

A common misconception is that leaders should have all the answers, but that is untrue and unrealistic. Understanding that it is okay to not have all the answers will make your transition into leadership exponentially less stressful. Do your due diligence to be knowledgeable about your field and your role, but if you are asked a question you do not have an answer for, it is acceptable to say, “I do not have an answer right now, but I will find one and get back to you soon.” Having the confidence to admit you do not have all the answers shows humility and a willingness to learn, which also sets a great example for those around you.

It will not be an overnight transformation.

While your responsibilities or job title may change overnight, your transition into leadership will not. It will take time for both you and those you are leading to adjust.  As you learn your new role, learn about those around you.  It will take some time to get used to each other and figure out the best way to work together.

As you transition into your new leadership role, it’s easy to be nervous.  Chances are, however, that you have already been leading, just without a formal title.  Throughout your leadership journey, read books and articles focused on growing as a leader invest in yourself and your development and seek mentoring.

There is a Chinese Proverb that states: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”

Let’s look closer at this concept.  If a tree was planted 20 years ago, it would be large enough by now to enjoy its shade and beauty.  In other words, if someone started working on a goal 20 years ago, it would already be reality today and even reaping the benefits of it.  But not all is lost.  There is another optimal time to plant that tree or to start at that dream.  That’s today.

Take the Blinders Off

We often wait until timing is just right or everything is perfect.  Maybe we don’t want to make mistakes or look like a fool.  Or it’s simply habit.  What is causing you to not take the first step?  A good place to start is by looking in the mirror.  Then, we are ready and we don’t act, think that opportunity has passed us by, never to be captured.  That backwards thinking will still not make it happen.

Get Into Action

We all have 86,400 seconds in a day.  That is 86,400 opportunities to act on whatever it is you are dreaming about.

Look closely at what you want to see in your future.  Turning that vision into reality is where most people stop.  They get overwhelmed.  Now look at that future vision again and think very carefully.  What is the very first step that you can take to make it reality?  This is where your mind shifts from being overwhelmed to forward thinking action planning.  That mindset shift requires work to make it a habit if we are out of practice.  It will keep getting easier and easier to plan out the next step and even the next step after that once momentum starts.

What is it that you are dreaming about?  What are you putting off for just the right time?  It’s time to make it reality.  It’s time to plant your tree.