Before we look further into the various meeting roles, let’s consider how we define what a meeting actually is.
A meeting is a synchronous activity where two or more people come together in real time, but not necessarily in-person.
Meetings can be professional or social; formal or informal; planned or spontaneous.
When we consider meeting design and role requirements, we tend to think of meetings that are professional, formal, and planned. However, even in work meetings that informal and spontaneous we need distinct roles. Whoever initiates the spontaneous meeting is effectively the meeting leader and the person, or people, they meet with are participants.
We’ve stated that two roles are present in every meeting, they are the leader and participant. Depending on the meeting profile two further roles may be needed, those of coordinator and facilitator. Larger events may benefit from two more, panellist and producer.
Why do meeting roles matter?
With clear and well-defined roles, people will know why they’re invited, what they need to do to prepare, how they will contribute, and the responsibilities they have for specific tasks. Without this clarity meetings tend to go around in circles, with little to nothing being achieved.
When everyone understands and agrees with their role, and its responsibilities, the meeting experience is more inclusive and conducive, fostering greater collaboration and productivity, while reducing the opportunity for conflict and essential tasks not being completed.
Here are some steps to help determine how to bring together the correct roles and corresponding responsibilities for your meetings.
- Use the Meeting Roles cards to help identify the core characteristics of each of the six common meeting roles.
- Identify the roles required in the context of your Meeting Type and its purpose, objectives, and outcomes.
- Consider the skills and expertise of the people you are inviting as part of the role assignment process, along with their stake in helping to achieve the required outcomes, and their ability and capacity to take on the role.
- Provide the opportunity for participants to prepare by communicating role assignments as part of the pre-meeting design process.
- Clearly define the responsibilities of the specific roles, so that everyone understands their combination of role and responsibilities during the pre-meeting, in-meeting, and post-meeting phases.
- Take a few minutes at the beginning of your meeting to reiterate the roles and responsibilities to ensure everyone is clear about their own and others’ roles and responsibilities.
- As part of your meeting review process review the roles and responsibility assignment to decide if any adjustments are required.
In some instances, you may encounter resistance to role assignment, which may or may not be justified.
- It may be that the prospective participant genuinely isn’t right for the role you are planning for them. It’s better to establish this early by listening to their concerns.
- However, they may be exactly the right person for the role, but you need to communicate more clearly and fully what is expected to dispel any confusion or concern.
- Participants may have conflicting workloads. If they are reporting to someone else who has different but no less important priorities, you may need to bring the parties together to find an acceptable solution.
- There may also be situations where there is a conflict of interest. An individual may be committed, early on, to their role and its responsibilities but their focus may change if something else occurs that is professionally or personally more rewarding. This situation can’t be ignored, so a conversation is required.
In all of the example here, where resistance may be encountered, communication is key. Listening to concerns, communication more thoroughly and clearly, and bringing potentially parties together for discussion where there may be conflict prevents challenges escalating into unresolvable problems that prevent the objectives being achieved, and outcomes getting delivered.
The Benefits Of Clearly Defined Roles
Increased meeting productivity: through better use of time and resources. Participants know what’s expected so time isn’t wasted on working out what needs doing, and who’s meant to be doing it!
- Reduced frustration: people can become frustrated when they are in the wrong roles, or don’t have clarity of their role and its responsibilities, leading to ineffective meetings that waste time and money.
- Improved communication: knowing who is responsible for what provides structure that allows the group to communicate more effectively. There is less likelihood of sidebar conversations and interruptions as communication between participants is in the context of their role and responsibilities. This provides a better opportunity for individuals to hear, and to be heard.
- Enriched engagement and inclusivity: facilitated by improved communication that reduces the opportunity for misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Participants feel more engaged when they understand and are understood, which leads to greater inclusivity and psychological safety.
- Enhanced collaboration: achieved by individual participants having a clear understanding of the own role and responsibilities and respect for the roles and responsibilities of others. This promotes a greater understanding of the need to work together which subsequently strengthens collaboration within the team.
- Heightened accountability: well-defined roles and responsibilities drive a sense of ownership for which participants take greater accountability, particularly when combined with a responsibility assignment matrix and a goal setting framework.
- Better decision-making: The right people in the right roles contribute to productive discussions that positively influence the speed of, and confidence in, the decision-making process.
- Conflict avoidance and management: It’s unrealistic to think that conflict in meetings will never occur and is totally avoidable. But it is realistic to expect conflict situations to be reduced when there is a better understanding of the individual roles, their responsibilities, and the value contributions they make.
- Meeting fatigue: is influenced not just by the time spent in meetings, but by how easy or difficult it is to participate actively and contribute meaningfully. When roles are properly defined people can focus on their responsibilities, and let others focus on theirs. This reduces stress and makes meetings less exhausting and significantly more productive.
As a meeting leader, being able to Identify the right people for the right roles is a key meeting success factor. Enabling those people to understand their own role and its responsibilities, along with the roles and responsibilities of others, and how those roles work together is a critical meeting success factor.