To attract meetings for study purposes, researchers typically use two approaches. The first is a classic survey in which researchers retroactively ask people about their real or simulated meeting experiences and analyze the answers. The second method is to analyze specific behaviors and trends extracted from audio and video recordings of meetings. Such precise content is “where the music is,” says work and organizational psychologist Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, director of the Center for Better Work at the University of Hamburg.
In an experiment, Lehmann-Willenbrock and colleagues extracted data from videotaped meetings to examine how leader communication affects team interaction during decision-making. The researchers found that respectful and attentive questioning by insightful leaders increased team performance, as opposed to when leaders asked questions but didn’t listen carefully to the answers.
Leading by listening
As with many scientific studies of meetings, their findings about what improves meeting effectiveness often seem obvious, but meeting researchers find that meetings often stray far from these ideals.
Such studies also show again and again how important active listening is, says Lehmann-Willenbrock: not just passive listening by the listener, but actively giving thoughtful feedback. Since “we’ve all learned to mute ourselves when we’re not talking, virtual meetings very often completely negate active listening.”
The balance between listening and speaking can also influence how well a meeting goes. Meeting leaders and participants may have very different views on whether a meeting was successful, notes Lehmann-Willenbrock. “Leaders often do the most talking, which is why they often think their meetings are pretty good,” she says. Kreamer also emphasizes that it is important for meeting leaders to lead the discussion, but not to dominate it. Leaders should keep track of the amount of time they speak to allow for the inclusion of many voices.
Research supports a checklist of additional things leaders can do before, during and after a meeting to make it a success, says Lehmann-Willenbrock. To set the stage, leaders should select appropriate rooms, refreshments and lighting, invite only those who need to be there, plan to start and end on time, prepare an agenda, set and communicate clear goals, and allow time for pre-meeting conversations.
