Mesh Teams Podcast

In this episode, we’ll breakdown four things that Lord of the Rings show us about how to have more effective, clear, and productive meetings.

BACKSTORY

First we need to set stage for you. In Lord of the Rings, there is a wise and mighty elf by the name of Elrond. Upon discovering the one ring of power, the primary tool of the main villain - Sauron, in Lord of The Rings to destroy Middle Earth. Elrond held a secret meeting called The Council of Elrond at his home in Rivendell, in order to determine the fate of the One Ring. Those present at this council represented the three free races of Middle-earth: Men, Elves, and Dwarves.

Episode Notes

#1 Come to the Meeting Prepared

Every meeting you attend needs a plan; having an agenda will help everyone come prepared and ready to focus on whatever the discussion needs to facilitate. Additionally, having an agenda ahead of time can sometimes eliminate the need for the meeting. Time is a precious resource and a commodity you can't afford to waste in your organization. Therefore, the small practice of creating an agenda and sending it ahead of time can transform your meeting effectiveness.

#2 Decide the Players 

Be specific about who needs to be there and why. Every meeting needs to have an agenda, a leader, and a facilitator. While the agenda will establish the purpose of the meeting, the facilitator will ensure that notes are taken, the next steps are distributed, and the time constraints are honored.

On the other hand, the leader of the meeting is over the content of the meeting. Meeting facilitators monitor flow, and meeting leaders are over the content. Additionally, everyone should know the purpose of the meeting and why they are present; this way, they can come prepared to contribute. Finally, don't leave a meeting without action items or next steps. Everyone should walk away from the meeting clarity on what needs to happen to

# 3 Know the Team Dynamics & Strengths in the Room

There are two essential things that Elrond could have leveraged that are present in this council meeting.

• The first is the importance of crucial conversations and meeting alignment. There were too many firsts happening in real-time in Elrond's meeting. These real-time discoveries and reactions that sideline the purpose of the meeting could have been addressed ahead of time with several crucial conversations. Having essential discussions ahead of time helps to create meeting alignment. Meeting alignment ensures that agreement is present before we all walk into the room or jump on the call. Understanding your team and leadership dynamics enough to have crucial conversations and gain meeting alignment is vital to preserving the focus and outcomes you want to see and experience in your meetings.

• Secondarily, Elrond could have leveraged the strengths in the room more effectively by leveraging the strengths in the room. For example, when you have crucial conversations, come to the meeting prepared, and are specific about who needs to be there, you can better empower people to help make the meeting more productive. For example, Gandalf has a wide array of experience and wisdom. Elrond could have spoken to him ahead of time, detailing what insight he needed from him, and come ready to provide some solutions to the current problem. Also, he could have made him aware of the dynamics in the room, namely, the central conflict between dwarves and elves.

#4 Facilitate Healthy Conflict

I can't believe that Elrond jumps into participating in the conflict that is present 🤦‍♂️. While conflict may get a bad rep, the presence of conflict can be a healthy indicator that new ideas and a diversity of thought are present. Your role as the meeting leader is to champion understanding and harmonize different perspectives to be in concert with one another. When you advocate for better understanding and lean into healthy conflict, it enables those attending to co-create solutions and generate ideas that better address your team's challenges, informed by the stakeholders that need to own the execution.

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