Your First Leadership Job: How Catalyst Leaders Bring Out the Best in Others

Your First Leadership Job

Mastery and Leadership Skills13MeetingsMake Them Count!

Pre:Think

Jot down a list of five things you've observed someone do or say in meetings that really got your attention in a bad way. Something truly awful, unproductive, or just plain bizarre. What happened? How did others respond? How did you wish they had responded? If you could have done something without getting into trouble, what would you have said or done?

If I wasn't tied up in meetings all day, I really could get something done here.

Most of you, leader yet or not, have felt like this at some point, and likely for the right reasons. A recent study of more than 1,000 UK workers revealed that their country lost more than £26 billion (about $43 billion) through wasted meetings. On average, the study reported that individuals are wasting two hours and 39 minutes in meetings each week!¹ The United Kingdom, of course, is not alone. Extrapolate the £26 billion around the world, and you easily assume that hundreds of billions are lost in inefficient meetings each year. Trying to estimate the real cost of meetings yourself? Thanks to the magic of technology, there are over a dozen apps that allow you to easily calculate meeting costs. Some are like a stop watch. Insert your average per-person hourly rate and the number of people attending the meeting, start the clock, and watch the money add up. ...