For the past two days, we've had a whirlwind of faculty meetings and workshops in preparation for the school year, which kicks off when classes begin next Monday. I noticed that these "returning" ceremonies often begin with a great deal of adrenaline and excitement about bonding with colleagues who have been away for a few months, but morale also often spirals down into a sort of "interfacing overload" where most people just want to run back home and clutch on to however many minutes are left of the summer as possible...or otherwise, their desparation for time becomes intensified by the "distraction" of meetings as they scramble to whip together the course syllabi they need to distribute in less than a week.

It's at times like these where meeting management really is important. Less is almost always more when it comes to meetings, even when the importance of the agenda items is critical. The busier the faculty are, the less likely they'll be on task if the meeting is inefficient. A well-run meeting, however, can make all the difference in the world. The business and management community has this stuff down to a science, but academics -- many of whom have only worked in the academic environment -- rarely get trained in it. EffectiveMeetings.com has a bundle of articles to assist (I especially liked their 10 Commandments of Meetings). I found some solid meeting management tips from Robert Bacal's business site which offers some unique advice. Like, for example, research has shown that starting meetings at times other than the hour or half hour mark actually reduces the number of latecomers. And putting actionable items that require votes at the top of the agenda gets more things done.

Of course, the leader of the meeting isn't the only one responsible for its successes and failures. Inc.com has some very excellent tools for boosting communication at meetings. And if people start getting agonistic, a skilled leader can effectively deal with people who disrupt meetings, too. For college faculty in particular, I also recommend a book I've read called Effective Committee Service (by Neil Smesler) from the excellent SAGE series of Survival Skills for Scholars. Meetings can be a valuable opportunity to interact with your peers in a focused way -- they can be fun, even, given the right dynamic. Proactive leaders and fully attentive members can make an insufferable topic lively and interesting.

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