1. No Agenda
   When there is no agenda, there is no opportunity to prepare, no framework for the meeting and no purpose. When this happens a lot, there is a tendency for 5 below.
   
   
2. Wrong people there
   Ever been to a meeting where there was no logical purpose for you to be there? Meeting time is valuable and it is important for efficiency and effectiveness that as few people attend as purposeful. People should appreciate that non-attendance at a particular meeting is OK and get used to it.
   
   
3. Overrun
   
   Those times when you sit in a meeting and watch your life slip away, are those that happened with poor meeting management. There is nothing worse than unkept promises (and meetings are just that - a contract to the participants time) and must be honoured. Everyone has a role here.
   
   
4. Indiscipline
   
   Many meeting participants do not know how to behave. These are things about them and their ego, lack of self-confidence and poor behaviours (out side the meeting too). Lack of courtesy, understanding and space for others to say their piece is inexcusable and not constructive for the outcome
   
   
5. The Leader Leads
   
   Here the meeting is at the beck and call of the leader or chair who really is holding court for themselves. This sort of meeting is about them showing that they are democratic, but they are nothing of the sort. This is a rubber-stamping meeting and is of little or no value
   
   
6. The Leader Doesn't Lead
   
   Here there is free-for-all, with no
   
   
   leadership from the chair. Poor behaviours, timekeeping and outcomes riddle this sort of meeting, with and end no-result and frayed-tempered, frustrated people
   
   
7. Environment
   
   Too hot, too cold, no water, no breaks, too big, too small. Have you ever been in one of those meetings? And aren't they awful, so awful in fact that you can't do your best. This is a meeting where the organisers do not respect the participants
   
   
8. Nothing Happens
   
   A lovely chat, a few disagreements and 'see you next month'. This is the nice-to-have meeting which does nothing and goes nowhere. As Peter Drucker said, 'Meetings are a symptom of bad organization. The fewer meetings the better'
   
   
9. Side-tracked/New Stuff
   
   With an agenda, people know what the meeting will be about - or will they. Even with the best agenda'd meeting weak processes tend to leave to new issues, side-tracking and wasted time. This is solvable with effort from the facilitator
   
   
10. No Review and Growth
    
    Meetings come and go and are always awful. They are unproductive, boring, overrun and people are there who shouldn't be. If there is no review of just how good or bad the meeting has been, there will be no improvement. The leader/facilitator can add in meeting feedback as the first agenda item and stick to it - tough at first but gets easier.

About the Author

© 2005 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com. (Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - with a live link if you can).