The Virtual Meeting Dilemma
The pandemic changed how we work. During the first six months of the pandemic, I interviewed leaders team members from a variety of different organizations to get a pulse on how leaders were and teams were doing. I asked leaders how they led in a crisis. I asked team members what was different since moving virtually and how was going. Here is what I learned.
Virtual Meetings
Many find them unproductive, disengaging, and a ploy to keep tabs on you.
What team members had to say about virtual meetings:
Virtual team meetings increased to two times a week from two times a month. Many felt this was more policing by their leader since the meetings were unnecessary and unproductive.
Virtual meetings took up 80 percent of the day leaving little time to be productive and get work done.
People were being scheduled to attend meetings that were not relevant to their work, leading to zoom exhaustion and frustration.
Virtual meeting content could be found on “collaboration tools” and were informational in nature, leaving people to ask, “why are we meeting”?
When asked how effective their leaders had been in responding to a crisis? Here is what I heard:
Some leaders of people began to ghost their people, not responding to emails or messages on collaboration tools.
Others became more controlling requiring their people to account for every minute of their day when working from home leading to people feeling that they are not trusted by their manager.
How to lead in a crisis:
Effective leaders focused on individuals, making sure that each team member had what they needed to work effectively virtually and that they were able to navigate the challenges that they may be facing working from home. Keen leaders understood how important mental health became during this crisis. In addition, effective leaders kept close tabs on how the team was functioning and collaborating virtually instead of trying to control how they worked; and finally, these rare leaders communicated openly and honestly about how the pandemic was impacting the business.
As organizations move to a virtual or hybrid work environment, here is the advice I give leaders in making meetings work:
Be stingy when considering a meeting.
Work on cultivating relationships and trust.
Start with understanding how you are viewed as a leader – if you do not allow sharing of ideas in person, virtual meetings will further silence people.
Only meet when there is a clear and compelling reason to meet and there are decisions to be made or problems to be solved which require an active discussion.
Invite only those individuals who can provide insight to the outcomes you are trying to achieve.
Identify a skilled virtual meeting facilitator to manage the meeting – it is likely NOT the leader who should be doing this for a whole host of reasons.
Evaluate meeting effectiveness often and adjust as required.
Work on team effectiveness, your effectiveness as a leader and productive conflict – all are necessary for meetings (whether in person, virtual or hybrid).