In our first session with an EOS® client, we help them implement an efficient, productive Meeting Pulse™ and weekly Level 10 Meeting™ that quickly improve the quality of the company’s meetings. One of the things we insist they do is rate each meeting – out loud – as it concludes.
“Rating your meetings” seems like such a simple concept that many fail to grasp its importance. Some even decide – early in the EOS journey – to make It optional or skip it altogether. If you’re one of those people – please read on. Because properly rating your meetings and using the feedback to make them better (and your team healthier) is a game changer.
How to Rate Your Meetings Properly
- Just before ending the meeting on time (because “early is on time and on time is late”), ask everyone to rate the meeting out loud, from 1 – 10 (with 10 being best).
- You’re rating the quality of the meeting, using your own internal barometer.
- That means you’re NOT rating the leader of the meeting, nor the quality of last week’s results. You’re rating the whole team and its performance in today’s meeting. At the end of a session (which we also rate this way), I simply ask, “How’d WE do today?”
- Be honest. If the meeting was terrific, perhaps your best yet – please feel comfortable saying “10.” If it was lousy, say the number that feels fair: 7, 5, even 2.
- Back your honesty up with feedback. Consider briefly saying WHY it was great if you rated it a 10. And definitely let your team know why it wasn’t great. Be open and honest here. If someone arrived late, or two people hijacked the meeting, or the whole team wasn’t fully engaged, call those behaviors out.
Why It’s Important to Rate Your Meetings
Most meetings in most organizations aren’t very good. When we ask teams to rate meeting quality before embarking on the EOS Journey, the average response is 3.5 on a scale of 1 – 10. Despite that depressing statistic, few leaders and teams ever discuss why meetings are so bad, or do anything substantive to improve them.
Though most leaders know that constructive feedback is absolutely key to improving performance, few would ever provide it to peers in a group setting. I’ve been in these meetings – heck, I’ve CAUSED these meetings. And I know that what’s far more likely after a bad meeting is for two frustrated leaders to make eye contact, roll their eyes, and then go out for lunch or drinks and complain about everyone else.
Take Meeting Feedback to Heart
When you redirect that unhealthy behavior into live, open and honest feedback for your teammates, you become a team working together to achieve more regular “10s.” You help people realize what they’re doing to negatively impact your meetings, and you invite them to let you know when you’re not at your best.
So, master this one simple discipline, and take the feedback you get to heart. For more help improving the quality of your meetings, access the resources below.
Next Steps
- Download the Level 10 Meeting™ Agenda from the EOS Toolbox™.
- Watch our video: How to Run An Effective Meeting.
- Download our eBook: How to Run World-Class Meetings.
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