Meetings: Information vs Action

I was sitting in a meeting a couple weeks ago, and this began taking shape in my mind. This is really directed at meetings within the local church, but whatever applies to your situation. Any input or thoughts on keeping meetings functional, useful, and to the point?


The whole chart boils down to information versus action.

Is the purpose of the meeting to spread some information to the people attending? That’s not necessarily bad, but there are lots of other ways to share information. A letter, memo, email… Granted, they can tend to lack a personal touch, but if it’s just about getting information to people, these types of communication are more time efficient and still communicate the message.

But, if that information is being given in hopes of inspiring people or casting a vision, then that’s best done face-to-face in person. That’s a different kind of information and dictates a different kind of presentation. It helps for people to be able to hear what you’ve got to say, but also to hear it in the sound of your voice, and to see it on your face, and to feel it with the passion and enthusiasm you say it with.

Mostly, meetings should be about action: decision making that requires the group, assigning tasks that need to be carried out by the group, following up on assigned tasks as needed (which, yes, get’s back to information, but this should be info given in an action-oriented way: here’s what’s done, here’s the next steps). People should walk out of the meeting feeling a sense of usefulness and purpose and direction.

And this is where I come back around to “info for the sake of casting a vision.” If it’s just about info, most will tend to feel like it was a boring waste of time. If it’s just about action, people will eventually feel some burnout. But if people catch hold of a vision for what’s coming, for where the group is heading, for the exciting things that they will get to help make happen… That’s a sense of purpose and direction. And if the next actions are obvious, people are more likely to take that next step.

The tag at the bottom: #’s & $ and/or ‘story of ministry’. Often reports are given in meetings with the bottom line in mind. How many people? How much money? And those can be helpful things to look at. I think, though, that it would be much more effective, and have a greater impact, to share those numbers, but to put a face with it. Tell a story about ministry. Tell about what God is doing through the team’s efforts. Celebrate the wins. Point out the successes – and even perceived failures can be successes if you tell about what you’ve learned from the experience.

So, how are you going to take this into YOUR next meeting?

Technorati tags: meetings, information, action, casting vision, ministry