Season 5 Episode 15: Virtual Meetings Can Be Done Better

Season 5 Episode 15 - Virtual Meetings Can Be Done Better, shows a laptop on a online meeting with many faces on the screen looking almost like the brady bunch
Season 5 Episode 15 – Virtual Meetings Can Be Done Better

We now know that virtual meetings can be done better. We’ve had enough practice throughout our teams and organizations and it’s now time to lead more engaging virtual meetings with four key reminders!

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SHOW NOTES

1:47 – Jason introduces Season 5 episode 15 of the podcast, Virtual Meetings Can Be Done Better. Welcome back to the podcast on corporate culture and leadership and thank you for listening. We engage thought leaders like CEOs, CFOs, managers, VPs, directors, and more for this podcast. We wish to create content that engages your mind and heart and allows you to step back and think and add some positivity to your life. We deep dive into today’s topic.

2:20 – We can’t control everything but what we can control is our response. Still a lot of work to do but wanted to remind the audience what is within our control is the temperature we create in the organizations and teams we work with. If you have a suggestion, please send it to info@jasonvbarger.com

3:00 – Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!

4:22 – Jason talks about how this season and thanks everyone for an amazing event at Thermostat Cultures Live 2021! Listen to the recap episode here. 

5:17 – Today we are talking about virtual meetings and how they can be made better. There are a few key areas that Jason talks about in making virtual meetings better.

Virtual Meetings Can be done better.

8:44 – Leading virtual meetings is a special skill that far few people have. Jason reviews some top tips for raising the bar with virtual meetings.

10:53 – There were many challenges that people faced in virtual meetings and the different style of working. The Top 3 issues with Virtual meetings

  1. Always on. Every 30 minutes there can be a new virtual meeting. “Sorry I just came from another meeting” or “I have to go I have another meeting”. No margin was left, no extra time for planning and follow-through.
  2. The virtual environment is boring. Even being in your sweats doesn’t make it interesting or fun in any way. Quick reports or death by spreadsheets does not make the meetings productive as oftentimes others are there to just listen not react in any way.
  3. Lack of connection. We started to isolate and caused some real issues connecting with people in the virtual space.

14:50 – Here are some of The Top Ways to Improve Virtual Online Meetings.

  1. Stop meeting stacking – Don’t stack meetings on top of one another. Plan for more planning in your meetings and leave some space to decompress after your meetings. Build-in breaks, time for planning, time for thinking in your virtual meetings. Some zoom meetings only need to be 30 minutes, some just a brief touchpoint, some an hour. It is important to schedule the right time for these meetings.
  2. There needs to be a purpose – A virtual meeting needs a clear purpose for the meeting. If a purpose cannot be identified then you don’t need to have a meeting. Clarity for the purpose is essential to narrow focus on meetings.
  3. Connecting – So many people say these meetings are so boring. Lack of connection and loneliness is common with meetings. Death by spreadsheet is real and exists in the virtual space. We need to adjust before a connection is totally lost.
  4. Utilization of technology tools – No more one-way listening and staring at the screen. Utilize the chat function, polling features, plan breakout groups and utilize tech for that. Leave time and space for questions and interactions. Invite people in to participate.

20:40 – Jason summarizes the values and discussion for today’s podcast and what teams and organizations can do to make virtual meetings more impactful and powerful for your organization. Remote work is here to stay so we need to better leverage our time, interaction, and technology tools to make virtual meetings better for all.

Questions to Ponder

  1. In what ways can you improve your virtual meetings? – the timing, the purpose, the connection?

  2. What are you proactively doing to engage the minds and hearts of those in your virtual meeting?

Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!


Remember, the best leaders, teams, & cultures stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.


If you like the podcast, have a question, or just want to share your thoughts about daring to begin please leave a comment below or please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT

Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.

A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families, or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker, and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.

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