Is Collaboration Quietly Killing Productivity?
- 27 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Are meetings becoming for meetings’ sake.
Why do we fill our days with meetings to discuss work instead of doing it, then feel overwhelmed by it?
I recently spent a rewarding day with a group of leaders from a thriving Orange County organization, digging into change management and succession planning to support their continued growth.
After focusing on the process of change and its impact on their teams, we moved on to discussing how to identify talent within their teams and ensure a steady flow of succession as their organization expands.
The biggest barrier to implementing succession planning was time. Things are moving rapidly, and to be honest, they don’t have time not to plan who will step up to make space for new team members to join them. But time remained the issue.
Why?
It turns out they are spending so much time in meetings discussing the plan that they didn’t have time to actually have conversations with their team members.
Ironically, we spent a whole day at an off-site event discussing this!
Does planning get in the way of action?
Yes. Very often, it feels easier to plan a meeting than to act on those plans.
These are often reasons we attend
FOMO – what might you miss if you don’t attend?
Low trust – no one can cover everything I want to make sure is shared.
The collaboration halo effect – if I am meeting with others, then I am adding value.
Ego – it feels good when you are invited to lots of meetings, and you can tell people you are busy.
I’m not saying these things aren’t valid; I’m asking whether they make your day as productive as it can be, or become an excuse for not doing something else.
There are many ways to make collaboration with others more effective.
Ask yourself these five questions to filter your meetings before you even get there.
What is the agenda? If you attend, do you need to stay for the entire meeting or just part of it?
What is the purpose of the meeting? Does it really relate to your role?
How can the meeting be conducted? Can it be virtual? Can it be a standing or walking meeting?
What are the options for receiving the information if you don’t attend? Could it be recorded? Can you see the detailed minutes afterward? Can the content be saved and watched later?
Do you even need to go at all? Can someone step in and then debrief you?
The team agreed that succession planning is a great way to free up their time by delegating attendance at meetings to someone with potential. It frees up their time and provides a great opportunity for a team member who is excited about attending.
What are you not getting done because you are “too busy”?
Would allowing yourself more time help you take more control of your day?
I would love to hear what you plan to do next:
Will you cancel one recurring meeting.
Send a team member in your place.
Challenge the agenda or meeting proposal?
Let me know what you noticed when you did that, and who else was grateful for it.
