The 30-Minute Meeting Rule

I worked with a vice-president who had a rule - never accept a meeting longer than 30 minutes. That sounds impossible, right?  We all want less meetings, but that never seems to happen.

 I had to ask more. The VP simply said, “If we can’t cover it in 30 minutes, the work isn’t ready to be shared yet.”

 This rule makes sense for a leader at the vice-president level because that level is often the final level of approval.  You might be thinking, "Sure, that works for a VP, but I have a team and they need me for longer periods of time.  This wouldn't work."  

At first glance, 30-minute meetings are good when:

• Decisions are made
• Input is needed 
• Approval is given
• Updates are shared
• Verifying alignment with the vision

But what if you applied this 30-minute rule to your leadership, regardless of title?

Here are some considerations to help any type of meeting stay focused to 30-minutes:

Has sufficient data been found and shared?

• And arguably, how could you know if the data is sufficient until you’ve shared it?

Has everyone attending the meeting reviewed the information prior to the meeting?

• Here is an opportunity for peer-to-peer accountability.

Are the right attendees invited to the meeting

• Ask the group, “Who else needs to be here?”?

Have you had small group discussions to affirm the group is ready to move forward?

• Small group discussions can set you up to better assess individual’s readiness and buy-in.

How aligned is everyone around the vision?

• Ask each member of the meeting to state the vision in their words.

In the pressures of everyone’s days and workloads, it can be challenging to get peer-to-peer accountability.  If you frame the outcomes, that often compels people to do their part. 

Here are some wins of everyone coming to meetings prepared:

• Shorter meetings cut out the drama and keep people focused
• You never have one meeting that solves all of the problems of a given project, so 30-minute meetings help chunk down the work
• A 30-minute window takes pressure off of the people wanting to meet with you because they can only discuss a portion of the project, or a limited number of agenda items
• The 30-minute meetings help people manage their spin

Slow down to go fast.

Setting up successful 30-minute meetings requires intentionality on your part.  But the outcomes are obvious:

• People get time back
• The time constraints keeps the drama out
• To be effective, the meetings need to be structured which helps everyone know what is going to happen, come more prepared, etc. 
• The structure of the meetings keeps the surprises at bay

My challenge to you is to pitch this concept to your colleagues.  Get their buy-in, then message me and tell me about the impactful things you are doing with the extra time you gain because of your 30-minute rule.        

Kerri Burchill, PhD is a leadership consultant and coach. She is the founder of North Star Coaching, which helps leaders and teams improve their interpersonal communication, improve trust and increase productivity.

Kerri combines the knowledge from her PhD and 25+ years of leadership experience to help leaders slow down to go fast. She understands how the day-to-day spin can put leaders in a firefighting mode and is talented at helping leaders shine like a North Star. Kerri has worked in three countries and currently consults with leaders and teams in a variety of industries.

Kerri supports leaders through keynotes, training, coaching, team development, and mastermind groups. She is comfortable facilitating messy conversations, shifting mindsets and holding leaders accountable to shine like the North Star. Kerri has published articles in peer-reviewed books and is currently working on a book capturing the inspirational stories of leaders and their growth. Check out her YouTube channel, for more leadership and communication tips.