As part of university life, all faculty regularly participate in or facilitate meetings. Whether as part of ongoing departmental work, faculty governance committees, or short-term task forces, the outcomes of collaborative endeavors are impacted by the effectiveness of the meetings themselves. Making the most of our precious time together requires intentionality and advanced preparation by the meeting facilitator.

The downloadable document here offers thought questions meant to guide meeting facilitators in thinking about how to prepare for, design, and run effective meetings. These prompts can also make good conversation starters for the first time that a group meets, either after it is formed or at the start of a new semester. Even if your group has been meeting regularly for a number of years, consider taking a fresh look at the processes of your shared work and considering where improvements can be made, not only to save time, but to make the time together as meaningful as possible.

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Zavala, A., & Hass, K. B. (2008). Art and power of facilitation: Running powerful meetings: Running powerful meetings Management Concepts Press. [University Libraries eBook]

Cullinan, R. (2016). Run meetings that are fair to introverts, women, and remote workers. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2016/04/run-meetings-that-are-fair-to-introverts-women-and-remote-workers

Krattenmaker, T. (2008). Make every meeting matter. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2008/02/make-every-meeting-matter

Harvard Business School. Press. (2006). Running meetings: Expert solutions to everyday challenges. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Pub.

Advisory Board. (2017). Anatomy of a great meeting [infographic]. Retrieved from: https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/resources/primers/anatomy-of-a-great-meeting

De Smet, A., Jost, G. & Weiss, L. (2019). Want a better decision? Plan a better meeting. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/want-a-better-decision-plan-a-better-meeting

Mroz, J., Allen, J., Verhoeven, D., & Shuffler, M. (2018). Do we really need another meeting? The science of workplace meetings. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(6): 484-491. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0963721418776307