Hate all the meetings; tips for how to manage them?

[Anonymous]

I love my job but the meetings are plentiful and exhausting/draining.

In an effort to try and better manage them, I'm trying to think of ways to handle my one-on-ones with my 7 direct reports.

Should I have them all in one day to get th over with or spread them out? Should I spend them out but only schedule them say before noon?

Any other ideas that have worked for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love my job but the meetings are plentiful and exhausting/draining.

In an effort to try and better manage them, I'm trying to think of ways to handle my one-on-ones with my 7 direct reports.

Should I have them all in one day to get th over with or spread them out? Should I spend them out but only schedule them say before noon?

Any other ideas that have worked for you?

First issue: you have too many one on one meetings. I used to work in a company like this and it is so unproductive and inefficient. It is also, frankly, a sign of poor management. You shouldn't need to have regular (I'm assuming, weekly, right?) meetings with all of your direct reports. Department or group meetings make sense but not everyone should get a one on one meeting.

[Anonymous]

Keep the meetings with your direct reports. Make them 30-45 min. 2 on Tuesday, 2 on Wed and 3 on Thursday. Due to holidays I try to avoid standing mtgs on Monday and Friday.

I say this assuming that each of your direct reports has their own direct reports. These meetings are important so make sure you know what is going on in teams of your direct reports.

However, if you only have 7 people in your charge and they all work directly for you then I agree with the PP. You can cut these out. A weekly team mtg will do.

[Anonymous]

If you can combine a few of the direct report meetings, you might do that. You are likely only as good as the people you manage, so I would not eliminate meetings with any direct reports (although you might be able to merge some.)

However you say meetings are exhausting/draining. which meetings are exhausting? If the ones with your direct reports are this draining I think something is wrong, they are too long or you are letting poeple complain rather than requiring they provide solutions with problems.

[Anonymous]

1:1 meetings is a DC thing. I've managed people in nyc and no expectation of 1:1 meetings needed. Here in DC it seems to be the norm. I think if you regularly check in on your employees a formal 1:1 meeting is unneceassary. In ny, we just did an occasional / ad hoc lunch out.

[Anonymous]

I do a 10 minute huddle every morning. It's a stand up meeting, and we move from person to person (10 people). They have a minute to summarize where they are. I do an email follow up to each individual (takes about 20 minutes), and then I AM DONE.

When I hired you, I chose you because you had the ability to manage your projects like an adult. If the huddle doesn't work for you, then you don't need to be working for me.

[Anonymous]

Why do you need one-on-one? Do you manage entry level people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do a 10 minute huddle every morning. It's a stand up meeting, and we move from person to person (10 people). They have a minute to summarize where they are. I do an email follow up to each individual (takes about 20 minutes), and then I AM DONE.

When I hired you, I chose you because you had the ability to manage your projects like an adult. If the huddle doesn't work for you, then you don't need to be working for me.

NP thinking of doing something like this. Do you do it first thing in the morning? Do you think it'd work at the end of the day? I try to schedule my meetings in the afternoon since I like to hit the ground running in the morning.