Effective communication, especially related to meetings,increases productivity, saves time and most importantly strengthensorganizational leadership capacity. Surveys of executives show thatthey can spend up to 40% or 50% of their time in meetings.Furthermore many executives observe that up to 50% of the timepeople spend in meetings is wasted. Think of the leadershipcapacity that is lost.

How can we improve the situation? Both leadership books Cutto the Chase and The Six Fundamentals of Successfocused on many concepts related to meeting management thatincrease leadership capacity and create organizational energy andincreased alignment and results. This article describes tools thatyou can use to make the principles in these books come to life. Youhave probably observed that people who successfully “cut to thechase” think clearly, act effectively and communicate directly.

In working with countless organizations, I have seen that thoseorganizations that develop common language and common practice incommunications of all types, including meetings, phone calls, emailand so forth, increase leadership capacity, with meetings becomingmore productive and people even enjoying them.

What constitutes common language and common practice? Severalkey principles include: establishing ground rules; effectivelyusing your company's mission statement; starting with the end inmind by knowing what you want to achieve before you initiate ameeting or a communication; being prepared for the meeting andknowing when to meet and who should meet. Furthermore, if you arethe facilitator, always establishing an agenda ensures that thepurpose of the meeting is communicated and known. By the meetingend, debrief and have an action plan created.

Establishing ground rules becomes part of common practice.Examples include the following:

• Start meetings on time and hold people accountable for arrivingon time
• Establish an end time in advance and end on time
• Come prepared to contribute
• Don't interrupt
• Stay on point
• Listen carefully
• Eliminate distractions like phones and mobile devices
• Use common language, such as letting people know that you “gotit”
• When you tell someone that you “got it” after the point isfirst made, it not only saves time, but keeps things on track andreflects your understanding of the concept
• Your company's mission statement has power. It describes yourorganization's purpose. When it becomes part of the common languageof the organization, it can help you make solid business decisions.Use it to create ideas and validate the quality of ideas. Whendebating different options, use the mission statement to chooseamong them.
• Define the purpose of every meeting, conference call, phoneconversation and one-on-one meetings.
• Start with the end in mind, knowing what you want to achievebefore you start. A clear vision of what you want to achieve in theend will keep you moving towards the goal.
• Before you organize a meeting, ask yourself: “Is a meeting themost efficient and effective forum to achieve the goal? Would othermethods such as phone calls, emails, a teleconference or a memowork more efficiently instead? What would happen if the meeting didnot occur?”
• Ask yourself well in advance: “What do I want to accomplish?What do I need from the participants? What information do I want toshare with them? What can I do to add value for the participants?How will the meeting's effectiveness be measured?”
• In inviting participants, think about the functions needed toaccomplish the goal before you think about the individuals. Inviteonly those critical to the goal. They and the others not invitedwill thank you once common practice establishes that only essentialpersonnel attend each meeting. Others may be briefed afterwards asnecessary.
• Create an agenda for every meeting. A well thought-out agendalets participants know what is expected of them as a participantand enables them to effectively prepare. Even an impromptu meetingcan use the first few minutes to define meeting purpose.
• Debrief at the meeting end. Ask your team, “Did we accomplisheverything we set out to do? Do we have a clear action plan? Iseveryone clear on their role, deliverables and timing on nextsteps?”
• Ask participants privately after the meeting to share theirthoughts. This creates engagement and leads to better ways to getthings done.

Time is leadership's most precious resource. Using it wisely isleadership's responsibility. Your organization's establishment ofcommon language and common practice will boost effectiveness,productivity and increase leadership capacity.

Stuart R. Levine is chairman/CEO of Stuart Levine &Associates Contact: (516) 465-0800 or stuartlevine.com