Navigating Meeting Rabbit Holes

Have you ever been in a meeting where the agenda was not well followed, or else completely ignored? Maybe there wasn’t a formal agenda in the first place, but just a vague sense of why the meeting was called. And maybe you’ve experienced the frustration of facilitating a meeting that gets side-tracked by seemingly random idea sharing, personal agendas, “flavor of the week” topics, or worse: the hottest fire burning in the organization that begs for a team’s reaction.

I bet we’ve all been guilty of taking a meeting off track too. I like to refer to these interesting but dubiously productive tangents as meeting rabbit holes. These topics always seem relevant to the people who raise them, but often turn out to be “shiny object” discussions that demand lots of attention, time, and energy with very little progress.

It’s easy to suggest simply sticking to the agenda and tabling anything not on the docket for another time. However, against common advice, I want to complicate things a bit. Perhaps the topic being surfaced really is important and needs to be aired. Rather than shooting it down immediately or letting it run out of control, maybe we can find a middle ground. What if we were thoughtfully adaptable in our meetings? If we combine purpose and flexibility, we can identify and address in-the-moment topics and concerns while still accomplishing what matters most!

If you’d like to develop a more flexible and dynamic approach to your meetings, try asking these three essential questions when you notice your team going down the rabbit hole:

1. Why are we discussing this topic?

   Mindset: Intention.

   Focus on the reason a topic is being discussed. Think about the context, “the big why,” to determine whether the topic belongs in the meeting. What makes the surfaced topic relevant or significant? How is it connected to the values, mission, and purpose of the team and organization?

   Make sure that there is ample conversation to clearly define the intention of each individual and topic, and check whether that intention is aligned with the strategic initiatives of the organization. If there is congruency, the topic is probably worth addressing.

2. What do we strive to achieve by working on this topic?

   Mindset: Accomplishment of the right things at the right time.

   Think about the goal, objective, metrics, and impact to be made in dealing with the topic. Ask whether you are the right group to tackle the work, and if so, what will a “job done well” look like once the work is completed?

3. How will we achieve this and get back to our meeting?

   Mindset: Tactical and flexible.

   Look at the emerging topic and assess the commitment, interest, and reaction it provokes in the group. Is this something that needs its own meeting, or could you give it attention and make good progress by dealing with it now? Once you have reached clarity, take action, close it, and get back to the agenda!

   Cultivating flexibility with purpose will help you deal with emerging topics without getting off track. Avoid the rabbit holes without ignoring important new ideas!

If you’d like to increase the odds of your meetings being more magnificent than they currently are, give our Magnificent Meetings podcast a listen.

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