Behavioral scientists emphasize that an organization’s culture is defined by what leaders allow. If poor customer service exists, the issue lies not with the employees but with the leaders who accept this standard. Similarly, if ineffective meetings lead to poor collaboration, the fault is not with the workers.

Transforming an organization to a customer service-oriented culture is simple in structure but challenging in execution. It begins with gaining buy-in for change, clearly defining the desired behaviors and their purpose, and providing thorough training. Leaders must communicate these expectations consistently, recognize and reward positive behaviors, and hold individuals accountable when these standards are not met.

Above all, building a culture of customer service requires committed leadership. Leaders must champion customer service with passion, offer continuous support, and embody the very behaviors they expect from their teams.

Similar to the customer service example, transforming an organization’s culture around meetings and collaboration requires leadership commitment, a clear vision for improvement, skill development, effective incentives, and accountability. Masterful Meetings offers a comprehensive ten-step plan designed to revolutionize meetings, enabling teams to collaborate more effectively and with greater engagement. This master plan is built on the following key success principles:

1. Gain support from your leadership team before taking any action.

To ensure this change is successful, every member of your leadership team must recognize how detrimental ineffective meetings are to the organization. They need to understand that the lack of collaboration within their teams is stifling innovation. Instead of fostering progress, teams are trapped in unproductive, unfocused, and dysfunctional meetings due to insufficient facilitation skills. Leaders must see their role as inspiring their direct reports, who in turn, should motivate their teams, creating a cascading effect throughout the organization.

2. Establish a baseline to highlight the need for improvement.

Conduct a meeting survey to assess the current state of meetings within the organization. This survey should address key questions, such as:

  • How much time are we spending in meetings?
  • What percentage of our meetings do we consider productive and effective?
  • What are the common problems in our meetings?
  • What are strategies we should consider for improving meetings?
  • Overall, how satisfied are we with our meetings?

3. Communicate a vision of what a masterful, collaborative meeting looks and feels like.

Craft and share a clear vision that outlines how meetings should be planned, initiated, conducted, and concluded. This vision should detail the responsibilities of both meeting leaders and participants, along with examples of effective ground rules, meeting notices, and meeting minutes. The goal is to establish a framework for meetings that foster collaboration, productivity, and engagement. Masterful meetings create collaborative environments.

4. Empower individuals to take an active role in eliminating bad meetings.

Implement meeting rights and encourage team members to exercise them. This empowers individuals at all levels to contribute to a cultural shift, creating a grassroots movement that makes unproductive meetings unacceptable. This approach fosters collective responsibility and reinforces the expectation that every participant has a role in improving the quality and outcomes of meetings.

5. Provide resources for developing skills for meeting leaders and participants.

However, granting a provocative list of rights could result in anarchy if you don’t provide meeting leaders and meeting participants with the skills to honor those rights.

Introducing meeting rights alone can lead to disarray if meeting leaders and participants lack the skills to uphold these standards. To support effective change, provide a comprehensive meetings manual that outlines best practices and a blueprint for planning and conducting successful meetings. This manual should clarify the roles of leaders and participants, offer strategies for resolving conflicts, address dysfunctional behavior, and include guidance for virtual and specialized meeting types.

However, for many—especially those who lead meetings regularly—a manual alone may not suffice. Hands-on training, practice sessions, and feedback opportunities are essential for building the skills necessary to lead masterful meetings. These experiences should take place in a supportive environment that allows for skill development and confidence building.

6. Sustain momentum.

Maintaining progress in transforming meetings requires ongoing attention to performance tracking, communication of achievements, rewarding successes, and making course corrections when needed. Form a dedicated transformation team tasked with continuously elevating meeting standards and practices.

Break the Habits, Break the Norm

The next time you find yourself saying, “This is an awful meeting,” remember that we only get what we allow. Take a moment to look around the room and consider how much of your organization’s valuable time and resources are wasted every single day in unproductive meetings.

When you’ve reached your limit, it’s time to take action. Start raising the standard by investing in essential meeting facilitation skills. Masterful Meetings, a comprehensive two-day course, will equip you with the tools needed to transform the way your team meets and collaborates, leading to more effective results.