10 Reasons People Resist Attending Your Meetings

Do you ever dread leading a meeting because you know that people are going to show up with barely concealed negativity or meeting malaise? People have lots of possible reasons for resisting your meeting. Take a hard, honest look at the meetings you run. Do any of these conditions exist?

1. It’s heinously boring. (Sorry, but it had to be said.) See here and here for ways to liven it up.
2. There’s no agenda.
3. There is an agenda. But it’s so jam-packed you can’t possible have a decent conversation about any of the agenda items.
4. They are confused about the meeting process.
5. Time is a precious commodity that they think you’re wasting.
6. There is no agreed-upon way to stop outbreaks of Verbal Dysentery.
7. As the meeting leader, you ask for input, but never do anything with it.
8. A weekly meeting that once made sense has now turned into “meeting for meeting’s sake”.
9. You tolerate interruptions and distractions.
10. They just hate meetings. Period.

Here’s the good news: you can absolutely do something about numbers 1 – 9. And, I’d be willing to bet that if those nine barriers to meeting success were addressed, not so many people would be on board with #10.

Remember, even if you don’t have a management title, when you lead a meeting, you are a leader. True leaders step up and address things that aren’t working. So, if you are dreading a meeting, consider what role (if any) your meeting leadership skills play in the dread. Then, put on your Big Kid Pants and get to work making your meetings productive, can’t-miss events.