Most churches, judicatories, businesses and even groups of various types plan meetings as part of their function.  Often it even seems that the primary function of some groups and employees is to plan meetings and attend meetings. While meetings do have their place in coordination, collaboration and carry out a group's mission many meetings seem meaningless and fruitless.  Meetings can move a group forward in function and mission or meetings can kill or distract from a group's function and mission. Patrick Lencioni has given us a great book, Death by Meeting that brings clarity to fatal and fruitful meetings. What would make meetings more effective?  How do you make events you plan a more meaningful and fruitful experience that moves the organization forward in function and effectiveness?

 

            One way of improving effectiveness and meaning is to utilize the coach approach in planning and conducting the meeting.  The coach approach has more to do with deepening and broadening leadership and ownership of ideas and projects than just talking about the project or ideas.  The coach approach creates collaboration, generates ownership and excitement along with anticipation of "what's next?' and "what will make this better?" Coaching is about forward movement, asking powerful questions and working from the agenda of the person(s) being coached (PBC). (See Christian Coaching for Leaders by Chad Hall and Linda Miller, and Idiots Guide for Coaching by Jane Creswell for more of the basics of coaching) Take some time to evaluate the meetings you are a part of...

 

o   How effective are the meetings you plan or attend?

o   What makes meetings so meaningless and unproductive at times?

 

Another Way of Crafting Meetings

 

            All too often a schedule of meetings births another schedule of meetings. Sometimes annual planning consist of what did we do last year and what are the dates for the same events next year? Planning events is critical in moving organizations forward, however because events are so frequent, they often lose intentionality, focus and even meaning when it comes to accomplishing a declared mission of the organization that creates or sustains forward movement.  Another way of crafting such a gathering is to begin with the mission statement, the elements of focus and goals for the organization during a given period of time and use these as ?lens' that serves as framework for designing an experience not just a meeting.

 

                                                                                    (over for coaching questions)

 

 

            As an illustration, in Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, where I serve as Church and Clergy Coach, it is clear from our name, mission and focus that we are about:

o   Cooperation

o   Fellowship

o   Collaboration

o   Missional Ministry and Living

            Many of the events we plan for our membership and partners keep these objectives in mind but occasionally lose focus in the frequency and sequencing of the events. Seems to me that our mission and focus might be strengthened more if we started with the ingredients of the experiences we are seeking to model and create. The coach in me wonders, "What if we planned an annual calendar (in CBFNC and our related councils, partners and churches) around experiences rather than events? Making events more meaningful experiences hinges on a powerful question - ?how can these core values/elements of focus be manifested in ... ?(the experience being planned). Consider some key experiences to be achieved and some coaching questions that may help make an event for a CBFNC group or church a more fruitful, focused, intentional experience that moves us one step forward in our agreed upon mission..

 

Cooperation

o   What are the elements of effective ?cooperation'?

o   How will we know when ?cooperation' is achieved now?

o   How will ?cooperation' manifest itself in...?

o   How will we manifest more ?cooperation' now?

 

Fellowship

o   What makes up ?fellowship'?

o   How do we measure and experience ?fellowship'?

o   What happens when ?fellowship' is not present in (event/meeting)?

o   What shifts are needed now to make our fellowship more effective now?

 

Collaboration

o   How and where do we experience ?collaboration' best?

o   What are the benefits of ?collaboration'?

o   What are the challenges of ?collaboration'?

o   Where and how can we be more ?collaborative' now?

 

Missional

o   What is the best example of ?missional' we know?

o   What and how can we learn from this?

o   How does ?missional' living impact and influence?

o   What will make us more ?missional' now?

           

            Applying principles to your context involves three objectives.  Leaders (and often participants) need to find answers to:

1.    What are the core values/foci of our groups mission?

2.    How can these values be integrated as building blocks for the experience we are planning now?

3.    How will we evaluate the result?

           

            This chart might be a useful guide as you create more meaningful experiences.

 

Making Events More Meaningful Experiences

(Moving the Mission Forward Through Events)

Example based on CBFNC Foci

 

Core Values/Foci     Possible Expressions   How to Integrate     Desired Outcomes

Of Organization       of Core Values                 into Experience     

Cooperation	Working together Complimenting rather than competing	Clarify ground rules Challenge to and seek to be complimentary	Agreement, Common direction, partnering in shared missions
Fellowship	Create open and inclusive atmosphere Learn about various personal preferences and traditions	Invite persons to share about themselves and two distinctive about themselves or family	Educate about distinctive/preferences See and value diversity as a gift and put it to work in the group
Collaboration	Incorporate others in planning, conducting and evaluating Consider ways different people groups can work together	Build task forces around diversity of ideas and people groups Celebrate new ideas and opportunities	Building and celebrating new relationships and ideas Share new discoveries of how the Body works together
Missional	Equally dividing budget and planning for ?inside & beyond' existing members	Engage and evaluate effectiveness of ?inside & beyond' experiences	Gain factual understanding of behavior rather than just subjective perception

Conclusion

 

            Are we still planning meetings and events? Yes, to some degree, and the meeting is less important than the core value experiences we are seeking to move forward during and after the event. Every element of the event can fuel and create forward movement for the mission of the organization.  Once these core values are clear, the designing of the experiences are filled with more intentionality, energy and meaning.  A final coaching tip that most leaders will like, but many will struggle to embrace. Establish a clear time frame for the event, experience and those meetings to plan.  Without firm beginning and ending times often frustration emerges, some feel their personal schedules are not being valued and far too often we keep talking just because no ending time is agreed upon.  Try it and see what happens. Then share your experiences with me at EHammett@cbfnc.org .

 

 

İEddie Hammett www.cbfnc.org ; www.transformingsolutions.org