The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance

by Steven G. Rogelberg

Overview

A recent estimate suggests that employees endure a staggering 55 million meetings a day in the United States. This tremendous time investment yields only modest returns. No organization made up of human beings is immune from the all-too-common meeting gripes: those that fail to engage, those that inadvertently encourage participants to tune out, and those that blatantly disregard participants' time.

Most companies and leaders view poor meetings as an inevitable cost of doing business. But managers can take heart: researchers now have a clear understanding of the key drivers that make meetings successful. In The Surprising Science of Meetings, Steven G. Rogelberg, researcher and consultant to some of the world's most successful companies, draws from extensive research, analytics and data mining, and survey interviews with over 5,000 employees across a range of industries to share the proven practices and techniques that help managers and employees enhance the quality of their meetings. For those who lead and participate in meetings, Rogelberg provides immediate direction, guidance, and relief, offering a how-to guide to change your working life starting today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190689216
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/02/2019
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Steven G. Rogelberg is Chancellor's Professor at University of North Carolina, Charlotte, for distinguished national, international, and interdisciplinary contributions. He has well over 100 publications and recently won the highly prestigious Humboldt Award for his research on meeting science. His work has been profiled in the Harvard Business Review, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, NPR, Guardian, National Geographic, and Scientific American Mind, among others. In addition to his research and teaching, he consults for small and large organizations, including IBM, TIAA, Procter & Gamble, VF Corporation, Family Dollar, Siemens, and others. Dr. Rogelberg founded and currently directs large outreach initiatives focusing on nonprofit organization health and effectiveness with over 500 nonprofits served.

Table of Contents

Preface

SECTION I: Setting the Meeting Stage
Chapter 01: So Many Meetings and So Much Frustration
Chapter 02: Get Rid of Meetings? No, Solve Meetings Through Science

SECTION II: Evidence-Based Strategies for Leaders
Chapter 03: The Image in the Mirror is Likely Wrong
Chapter 04: Meet for 48 Minutes
Chapter 05: Agendas Are a Hollow Crutch
Chapter 06: The Bigger, The Badder
Chapter 07: Don't Get Too Comfortable in That Chair
Chapter 08: Deflate Negative Energy From the Start
Chapter 09: No More Talking!
Chapter 10: The Folly of the Remote Call-in Meeting
Chapter 11: Putting it All Together

Epilogue: Trying to Get Ahead of the Science—Using Science

Tool: Meeting Quality Self-Assessment
Tool: Sample Engagement Survey and 360 Feedback Questions on Meetings
Tool: Good Meeting Facilitation Checklist
Tool: Huddle Implementation Checklist
Tool: Agenda Template
Tool: Guide to Taking Good Meeting Minutes/Notes
Tool: Expectations Assessment

Acknowledgments
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

10/08/2018
Science, yes—but there’s little surprising about this slim, narrow-scope proposal from Rogelberg, a UNC­–Charlotte management and psychology professor. Setting the scene, he observes in the preface that meetings have their upsides—when done well, they provide employees with “organizational democracy” and “buy-in”—but also get a consistently bad rap, and for good reason. In one study, 47% of workers reported meetings as the number-one time-waster in their offices. Rogelberg’s stated goal, then, is to bring a systematic, statistics-based approach to understanding and improving meetings, usable not just in the workplace but in community and religious gatherings as well. How can meetings be more productive—and does science have the answer? One obstacle is that people, according to studies, tend to naturally overestimate their own leadership ability—but, Rogelberg counsels, the typical manager can do better by shortening meetings, inviting fewer participants, keeping the tone positive, and avoiding the “folly” of remote call-ins. Simultaneously sparse and padded, Rogelberg’s work only confirms what the average office worker already knew even without the benefit of scientific confirmation. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Some of the suggestions in the book are easy to implement. Playing music or offering snacks can be a simple fix to lift mood before the meeting begins. Some, on the other hand, require some more effortful reflection, like reviewing attendee feedback on meeting quality. Fortunately, Rogelberg spares readers from the grunt work by providing templates with survey questions and response scales. What the reader needs to do is dedicate time to using those tools... In short, this is a book written for anyone who needs to run a meeting. The benefits you extract from it will depend on the amount of effort you put into applying the recommendations and the amount of buy-in you get from your meeting attendees. Even if you're not surprised by the science presented, it reminds you to re-examine the habitual aspects of meetings that normally go unquestioned." — Vanessa C. T. Nguyen and S. Bartholomew Craig, Department of Psychology, NC State University, Raleigh

"You know what might be more useful than sitting through an hourlong department meeting? Taking that hour to read a book about why most workplaces are doing meetings all wrong."—Business Insider

"Pointless, exhausting meetings are the bane of most employees' existence. But it does not have to be this way. In The Surprising Science of Meetings, Steven G. Rogelberg, a meetings science researcher with two decades of experience, draws from studies, corporate surveys and success stories to share how you can make meetings actually useful."—The Huffington Post

"If one of your New Year's resolutions is to spend less time sitting in or leading useless meetings, this book is for you."—Washington Post

"In workplaces around the world, meetings are where productivity and creativity go to die. Steven Rogelberg is the world's leading expert on how to fix them, and here he shares the best evidence on how we can stop wasting time and falling victim to groupthink."
— Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg

"To achieve bigger impact in your work tomorrow, you can start by making simple changes today. By highlighting the ways that we waste our own and others' time without even thinking about it, and offering solutions for transforming our workdays, Steven Rogelberg shows you how. A game-changer for leaders, this book is unlike any other written about meetings. It is intriguing, highly informative, insightful, and fun to read."
— Tasha Eurich, New York Times bestselling author of Insight and Bankable Leadership

"Contrary to what most people experience every day at work, meetings actually can be efficient, productive and successful, and Steven Rogelberg uses years of data, analytics and interviews to show how we can make better use of time spent in meetings." —Arianna Huffington

"Steven Rogelberg has done the nearly impossible: translated solid organization science into a well-organized, readable, and often humorous book filled with evidence-based actionable steps that individuals, managers and leaders alike can apply to improve their own lives, their meetings, and ultimately the effectiveness of their organizations."
— Alexis Fink, Senior Director of Talent Management, Intel

"This book is a must read for anyone who wants to be more effective at work, especially leaders and managers. It offers practical advice on how to harness the power of meetings while avoiding many common pitfalls. I learned some very useful tactics that I will put into practice immediately." — Janine Waclawski, SVP of Human Resources and CHRO, Global Functions and Global Category Groups, PepsiCo

"Non-stop meetings can often be the bane of any corporate employee's existence. Steven Rogelberg's evidence-based book offers practical tips for turning these "necessary evils" into efficient and productive interactions that engage the hearts and minds of leaders, teams, and organizations. This book is a great resource." — Robin Cohen, Head of Human Resources, Global Finance, Johnson & Johnson

"One of the ten Leadership books to watch in 2019" — The Washington Post

"One of the top business books everybody will be reading in 2019" — Business Insider

"Finally! Evidence-based, actionable advice about improving the quality and impact of meetings. Rogelberg has written a tour de force. If you put his sage advice into action, your teams and organizations will accomplish more." — David G. Altman, Chief Operating Officer, Center for Creative Leadership

"If anybody has a claim on the role of meeting scientist, it's Rogelberg. He has been researching meetings using field surveys, laboratory studies, and experiments incorporating planted accomplices for 15 years. In this book, he weaves his findings and the research of others into an evidence-based approach to meetings that is sometimes eye-opening."—Strategy + Business

"This book is a must read for undergraduates in all majors and (especially) graduate management and business students. It will also be a worthwhile professional development resource."—CHOICE

From the Publisher