While an organization can have many types of meetings, not every type of meeting needs to have the same level of structure. Meetings improve when they adopt a suitable level of structure. While there’s no magic formula that reveals which meetings require more structure and which require less, we have identified three characteristics that can help determine the appropriate level of structure.
Frequency of meeting – The more frequent a type of meeting is held by the organization, the more likely the organization would benefit from having a higher level of structure used across the organization. Meetings held daily or weekly are good candidates for increased structure.
Time spent in meeting – The total organizational time spent in a type of meeting is another factor that influences how much structure should be considered for a meeting. A quarterly Town Hall meeting that involves all employees represents a considerable investment of time for the organization, even though it only occurs quarterly. Meetings in which a significant amount of time is spent are candidates for greater levels of structure.
Impact of the meeting – In addition to the frequency and time spent on a meeting, the meeting’s level of impact should also be considered when thinking about the appropriate level of structure. A sales meeting with large, important prospects may not occur frequently and may not involve a lot of time, but the impact of such a meeting may mean that it would benefit from a higher level of meeting structure.
Three Levels of Structure
After identifying which meetings would benefit from structure, the next thing to consider is how much structure is appropriate. A specific meeting within a company can have one of three levels of structure: Ad Hoc, Distinct, or Defined.
A meeting that uses the Ad Hoc level of structure is one that has no repeatable processes. Each time the meeting is held, the format may vary. The purpose is not formally identified. The leader and participants have little insight into what is expected of each other. As such, the success of a meeting with an ad hoc structure is dependent primarily on the meeting leader’s abilities. While meetings with this level of structure can still be effective, this level of structure (or lack thereof) leads to greater variability in their success.
The next level of structure is called Distinct. A meeting that uses the Distinct level of structure is one where the leader and participants understand that the meeting is of a certain type, even though there is not a formal structure for this meeting type. For example, everyone understands this is a brainstorming meeting, where everyone participates in the process of idea generation and weighing options. The recognition of it being a distinct type of meeting helps set expectations, provides some clarity on the purpose, and influences the format, even though there is no formal structure in place across the organization. Meetings with a Distinct level of structure have less variability than Ad Hoc, helping to provide improved structure and results.
The third level of structure is called Defined. A meeting that uses the Defined level of structure is one where the organization has created a Meeting Model for the meeting type. The Model provides a clear purpose, format, and expectations. The organization uses the Model to create consistency in the specific meeting type and train new participants. The Model is used by all leaders of these types of meeting, and reflects the best practices identified by the organization. Meetings that use the Defined level of structure will exhibit the most consistency and create an enduring structure for the organization.
The concepts from this article were taken from Meeting Structure: Achieving meeting effectiveness through structure. Available through The ReWild Group and Amazon, the book explores in-depth this and other concepts while providing illustrations to help business leaders incorporate the ideas into their organizations. Get your copy today to start benefiting from Meeting Structure in your company.