Emily Ackerman’s Post

Are we drowning in a sea of purposeless meetings? The answer, unfortunately, is often yes. But what if we could turn the tide? In my years of growth coaching, I've observed that the issue is not the quantity of meetings but rather the quality. Too often, meetings are convened without a clear agenda or defined outcome, leading to wasted time and resources. We need to shift our focus from merely having meetings to creating meaningful interactions that drive our organization's objectives. Imagine receiving a meeting invite complete with an agenda, the expected outcome, and how it aligns with the organization's BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). This approach not only sets the stage for a productive discussion but also allows attendees to prepare effectively. Moreover, it's crucial to respect everyone's time and expertise. If someone believes they cannot add value to the meeting, they should have the option to opt-out. This practice fosters a culture of respect and accountability, where each meeting serves a purpose and contributes to the core customer value and brand promise. By adopting this approach, we can measure the effectiveness of our meetings and their outcomes. This shift from quantity to quality can lead to more productive discussions, better decision-making, and, ultimately, a more efficient organization. I'd love to hear your thoughts. How do you ensure your meetings are purposeful and productive? Do you have any strategies or practices that have worked well for your organization? Please share in the comments below. #GrowthCoaching #EffectiveMeetings #Productivity

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 💫 Struggling to align with external partners like trainers and consultants and feeling like the collaboration isn't quite clicking? It's a common challenge, and I understand the frustration. Without alignment, you risk partnerships that don't deliver, potentially tarnishing your company's reputation. 🏛 So, what's the game plan? Here are a few strategies I've found invaluable: ✔️ Value Alignment Sessions: Start by getting everyone on the same page about what you stand for and where you’re headed. ✔️ Partnership Development Program: Invest in growing together, ensuring the collaborations deepen and evolve. ✔️ Regular Engagement and Feedback Loops: Keep the lines of communication open to foster a dynamic, mutually beneficial partnership. Implementing these steps can transform your collaborations, making them more in tune with your company's values and boosting the impact of your initiatives. Got any tips on enhancing partnerships with external collaborators? Drop your strategies below! ⬇️ ➖ ➖ ➖ For over 20 years, I’ve trained over 5,000 corporate clients for companies ranging from Dell to the Department of Justice. Using evidence-based strategies, I help organizations create a culture of high performance to accelerate growth and skyrocket results. My signature system is the key to my clients' success, as it provides highly effective and engaging programs customized to improve overall well-being, allowing you to unleash the full potential of your team and business. Do you want to know how you stand against other leading companies? Do you want to know where your company currently excels? Do you want to know where you have room for improvement? ***** 👉 Type “YES” in the COMMENTS below... And I will provide you access to my proprietary “Corporate Culture of High Performance CHECKLIST.” I look forward to guiding you to your fastest path to success. #management #business #innovation #relationshipbuilding #partnerships #collaboration

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 “𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩”. Leaders who run meetings with purpose, run organisations with purpose. Steve Jobs, known for hating big, bloated meetings, only invited those essential to a particular outcome. If you were in the room, it was because your contribution mattered. If not? It was because your time was more valuable elsewhere. Jobs understood that focus was power and any distraction diluted the strength of that focus. Similarly, Oprah Winfrey was so averse to unnecessary meetings that she attended as few as possible. When she did sit down for a meeting, she ran it with the same no-nonsense efficiency as her TV shows. Before anything else, she would explore the meeting’s intention and what was important. If the outcome could be achieved via email, there was no need to gather. Oprah valued clarity of purpose above all else. The key lesson here is lead with intention. When running a meeting, ensure it’s driven by purpose and clarity, not routine. Meetings are powerful tools when used correctly, but they can also be severe time-wasters if not aligned with your goals. Want more unconventional meeting strategies from the likes of Bezos, Jack Ma, and Gary V? Read my full article on Business Leader below and learn how to turn meetings into opportunities for growth. https://lnkd.in/eeqH5eRx 

Absolutely agree! When Leaders can run a meeting focus driven on results, you know you're working for a leader who is strong enough to make decisions and lead the company through tough storms. Too many meetings can be solved by an email. Purpose-driven meetings are not just about saving time; they are about fostering a culture of intentionality and focus that permeates the entire organization.

Today’s #TipTuesday post discusses how to 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. – 𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 If you find these insights valuable please share and comment your own for our collective learning! As the great paper salesman Dwight Schrute once said, “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.” Getting and keeping audience attention virtually is a big challenge. Here’s a few tips on conscious decisions I make when working virtually. 𝙏𝙞𝙥 #1 - 𝙁𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 5:95 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚. Unless you’re leading a status checkpoint meeting, you should be spending no more than 5% of your audience’s time on informs and background context. 95% of the meeting time should be spent on discussion or debate topics. You can do this by over-communicating before and after the meeting: - Send pre-reads, agenda, and goals at least 48 hours before the meeting - Re-send notes the morning of - Send a recap note no more than 48 hours after Say what you’re going to say, re-say it, then remind everyone what you said. 𝙏𝙞𝙥 #2 - 𝙀𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙-𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙗𝙞𝙩-𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙨. If you use capabilities like chat, “raise-hand” features, etc. call them out and use them. Make sure you hold the audience accountable to these tools. 𝙏𝙞𝙥 #3 - 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙤𝙣𝙚… 𝙐𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨, especially if you can tell they’ve lost interest or are multitasking. This method isn’t meant to come off as a discipline measure, more to engage an audience who could easily be watching Netflix on the other screen… For example: - “Like, [insert name] said earlier…” - “[Insert name], remember the hallway conversation we had…” This method has served me well throughout many virtual meetings with junior and senior leaders. Hosting meetings, let alone virtually, is always an art and a science, be creative in how you find ways to fight for audience focus! #CareerAdvice #FutureLeaders #ThoughtLeadership #CareerDevelopment #ProfessionalGrowth #Communication #entrepreneurship #virtual #meetings #ProjectManagement

I had no structure for e-meetings with clients before. But the whole process used to fall flat after that. Now, I make sure to ask these 5 questions to the client. Intentions matter a lot. But what’s more important is "how you do something". Everytime you can not complain that they forget to tell you. I corrected this attitude and now it's your turn. These 5 questions now help me to get the most information from the client. 1 >  Why did the client want to work in this industry?       + It shows their passion.        + It shows their inspiration, if they have any.       + It clarifies the outcome they want also. 2 > What is their opinion about the general research I did of their competitors?     + It keeps the conversation casual.     + It will also show me the way they will treat my work.     + It clears any doubt they might have about my work ethic before. 3 > What makes them different?     + Product differentiation comes after the market research.     + This question helps in identifying their core values.     + In most cases they name their desired outcome with this question. 4 > What I can do for them, a brief summary.   + It sets clear expectations.     + Also, it filters out if something is out of alignment to what I do.    + And it also helps me in understanding that, Is my social presence giving the right signal to people? 5 > I talk about 2 or 3 same projects. E-meetings are not confirmed clients. This part makes them clients. Also it clarifies the duration of the project. And I can efficiently ask what I’ll be needing from them. P.S. 1 hour meetings or 30 minutes? I take 1 hour. #digitalmarketing #adagency #leadership #clientsmeeting #meetingtips

Ready to supercharge your team's success? Sparks' Adam Charles shares his top 5 essential steps in his latest article for Fast Company. From fostering open communication to setting clear business goals, these strategies will energize your team and eliminate obstructive practices. Check out the full article to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eitBBj73

Meetings can become powerful catalysts for growth and collaboration. By leading with intention and clarity, the #chair ensures that every discussion is purposeful and aligned with the organisation's goals. Let's follow the examples of leaders like Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey, who valued every participant’s contribution and kept distractions at bay. #boards #meetings #directors #leadership

I couldn't agree more with this insightful post 👇 from @brucewhitfield about the importance of purposeful meetings. As some 'middle aged' 🤦♀️ professional who values efficiency and productivity more and more, I have seen firsthand how unfocused meetings can drain time and energy from an organisation and its employees. The examples of Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey are particularly striking. Their approach to meetings - inviting only essential contributors and prioritising clear outcomes - resonates deeply with me. It is a powerful reminder that our most valuable resource is time, and we must steward it wisely. I have found that implementing similar practices in my own work has led to more productive discussions, faster decision-making, and a more engaged team. By ruthlessly questioning the necessity of each meeting and ensuring a clear purpose, we've reduced wasted time and increased our overall effectiveness. Let's challenge ourselves to bring this level of intentionality to all our meetings. Who's with me? #ProductiveMeetings #LeadershipLessons #TimeManagement

At least the “New Business” items.  Why, do you ask…How does this save time???     In my experience, it’s almost always the same people who speak up at staff meetings; the people who process information quickly and/or the people who process information verbally (points finger at self). I think out loud and I know I am not alone. It can drive people nuts and it can be a total time waster as I process externally to better understand. Sometimes it would even confuse my peers in the process.     Then there’s the folks on the other end of that spectrum, those who RARELY talk at meetings. There can be a myriad of reasons why, most commonly they need time to “internally process” to formulate their questions, thoughts, and ideas. In my experience, when the (normally) quiet people talk… people listen, because what they say is valuable. Emailing out agendas a hour early gives each of these groups time to process the information and then come to the table with clear(er), more concise communication. It’s more inclusive, bringing in the more #deliberative folks to the conversation. (Trust me, they will absolutely appreciate it, right?)   Finally, it gives the external processors time (on their own) to clarify, avoiding the confusion that we can spread, and saving team time in the process. One final and important note. For this to work well, there must be the expectation that everyone comes to the meeting having read the agenda and taken notes when appropriate. As a team, create a humorous but memorable penalty for those who do not come prepared. Doing these things will make meetings shorter AND more productive! Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.  Unlock potential, ignite success because #StrongManagersThrive !   #SEGCoaching #IGrowManagers #TimeManagement #ProductiveMeetings