I have a joke in my corporate stand-up comedy:
I once asked a colleague for the presentation he shared in a call yesterday, and his response was, «Let’s jump on another call and discuss.»
The sad part is that this joke is no longer just a joke; it has become a reality.
One of our company’s best leaders recently (ironically in a meeting) said with a mix of sadness and relief that she has reached her maximum time capacity and can’t handle any more meetings.
The challenge is not holding meetings but selecting topics that merit a meeting. As someone very wise once said:
«This meeting could have been an email»
Asynchronous communication has become an art that is necessary to master to maintain one’s sanity.
Here are some basic guidelines on when to use what communication channel:
Use Meetings for:
- Big decisions that require alignment among multiple people.
- Agreeing on an action plan.
- Mitigation plans and activities that are off-track.
- Conversations about people (feedback, talent reviews, promotions, etc.).
- Brainstorming
Use Emails for:
- Project status updates.
- Non-urgent requests.
- Follow-ups on assigned tasks.
- Work digests.
- Heads-ups.
Use Instant messaging (IM) for:
- Requesting links to documents.
- Asking if someone will be in the office tomorrow.
- Inquiring about the next bank holiday.
- Requesting office supplies.
- Asking when someone will be back from vacation.
- Quickly solving a problem (although be careful, as these could be emails too).
Recovering our time is essential to make corporate work fun again.
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