How Not to Cause Emoootional Damage as a Meeting Organizer

Whew…I just wrapped a company-wide town hall session to over 200 of my colleagues on the state of work meetings—and how ineffective ones are costing us our mental wellness.

Now, you may be wondering, “How did this become an agenda item at an all-staff meeting?” Or you could be thinking, “This can be spoken about—out loud instead of shaking my fist screaming at the clouds?”.

It was sparked by this LinkedIn post and yes, I challenge you to make this an agenda item at your next all-staff meeting.

But first, here’s a quick backstory of how this prayer for more “effective meetings” became a segment at my place of employment’s town hall.

The SVP of Operations at Unbounce, whose main objective is to help Unbouncers do their best work, saw my infographic on LinkedIn. She then alerted the Internal Communications Manager who hopped into my DMs.

Then boom bang bing — it became an agenda item.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all been to our fair share of meetings that could have been an email and THAT can be exhausting to repeatedly need to combat.

Therefore if you’re shitty with boundaries or a habitual “everything needs to be a meeting” scheduler—I made this for you.

Too Many Meetings?, Decision Chart Infographic

For A-Types, organizers and the exhausted.

Screenshot this infographic

And before your thoughts enter into battle with the auto-pilot nature of hosting and attending work meetings. I want to be absolutely clear, this isn’t a protest against meetings but a petition for effective ones. We can’t avoid them in a business setting, especially with a good number of companies working remotely.

We also can’t ignore the estimated $37 billion that is lost annually due to ineffective meetings, according to Business Insider [source]. Let that sink in.

I once heard someone say,

“Your calendar is a view into how others use your time, not a measure of your productivity.”

And that stuck with me! A lot of the workday is about managing our energy over our time. As effectiveness is often disguised as, how well we navigate the unexpected.

• Not feeling productive
• Last-minute projects
• Impromptu meetings
• catching up on Slack messages

The clip has been taken from “Spider-man: No Way Home”. The scene where Dr. Strange is casting his spell and Peter tries to interrupt him.

Burnout is real. So real in fact, there is research on it. And it addresses the 3 scales of burnout:

1. Exhaustion measures feelings of being overextended and exhausted by one’s work.
2. Cynicism measures an indifference or a distant attitude towards your work.
3. Professional Efficacy measures satisfaction with past and present accomplishments, and it explicitly assesses an individual’s expectations of continued effectiveness at work.

Make a mental note, if you fall under any of the 3?

As poet and civil rights activist, Audre Lorde said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation.”

Having conversations IN ADVANCE about the things that can lead to burnout puts us in prevention mode versus putting out little fires everywhere.

Here’s my breakdown for each crossroad in my decision chart infographic.

Having unnecessary meetings can cause emooootional damage to one’s time and energy.

Think about the anxiety that can come up for your colleagues that feel uncomfortable with saying no, feelings of added pressure and strain on one’s time — as unnecessary meetings often take us away from existing projects and deadlines.

*I didn’t even address the various learning abilities we all have on how we receive and filter information. Adult ADHD is a thing and my previous boss who was open about his abilities was sure to let folks know how he did his best work—most of it can be found in this breakdown.

The classic, it could have been an email (or a Loom video) instead. Where the important points and action items can be documented and referenced at the attendees’ available time.

We are in the digital age and so many tech tools are upon us. If not a Zoom meeting, what else could be a more productive method that considers the goal and the people?

Can we add, “it could’ve been a Slack message” to the classics too?

Take a moment to consider the Slack groups that are available to communicate the same info and tag the key people who should be involved in the conversation. It may not only save time in our calendars but quite possibly be more effective.

Slack now has features like voice/video memos and huddles for additional ways of connecting.

Setting some attendees as optional was a game-changer for me. Seeing my name as optional in meeting invites created such unexpected joy!

Google Calendar has the feature to make some attendees mandatory and others optional. Which takes the pressure off of those who would probably like to be there but can’t because they may have another time-sensitive project. This minor adjustment in the way we set up calendar invites can help people manage their energy more efficiently by understanding what is expected of them.

Setting up a RACI framework prior to sending out a meeting invite can also help solidify who needs to be a part of the conversation at all. And for those who can’t attend, sending out async communication afterwards helps to keep everyone informed.

For Meeting Organizers—A Thread

Here are a few points you probably already know so consider this a refresher.

1. Prep in advance

Get your bullet points TOgether, your RACI framework in formation and your ASK formulated.

2. Have an agenda with an objective

Nobody likes, “Surprise. You’re talking” points. Give folks a heads up and the opportunity to Slack you instead (of a meeting) with what you need.

3. Start and end on time

More than likely, after this meeting, follows another one or we came out of one — and we just need a bio break before the next Zoom call. Thanxs!

4. Lead the meeting

So many of us show up not knowing what is expected of us and then the meeting becomes unproductive. Take reign of this discussion, please.

For Meeting Attendees—a two-way street

We need to be accountable for our own mental capacity and communicate our needs and/or preferences to our colleagues when necessary. We shouldn’t expect others to know what we may need in order to do our best work.

1. You are the manager of your tools (and calendar)
2. And if you can’t attend—ask for the notes, decisions, takeaways or action items from the meeting host.

One way I’ve been protecting my calendar (and not spending my days re-scheduling meetings) is by setting up an auto decline. When I’ve reached my mental capacity for meetings and can no longer be effective or present (which is usually 4–5 in the day) it prompts the organizer to select a better time. If you want to take it a step further—set up a no meeting day—our marketing team re-branded them as focus days.

Live screenshot of my auto-decline in action for said town hall. The irony (and shade!) But ultimately I accepted it—I was presenting.

In conclusion, a healthy workplace starts with all involved. That means, being unafraid of taking an active role in managing your time and energy.

And if you feel the Zoom meeting could have been an email.

Save yourself the emotional damage.