An effective meeting begins with some strong organization and pre-planning, especially in the healthcare profession. Whether a meeting is effective or ineffective depends on many factors, which I will describe throughout this essay. Recently, I attended an important meeting as a CNL and learned many things about how a meeting can work well and be effective or turn out to be ineffective.
First off, from being at the meeting, I realize that the way that a supervisor or leader communicates is important. One must be concise and to the point without being condescending or disrespectful to employees in the meeting. The supervisor and meeting leader should say what one means . For the most part, the leader did this quite well.

The meeting must also be conducive for patients’ needs, which should be assessed in some standardized way. This can be done through surveys or in person discussions with the patient. Solid data, information, and case studies should be provided and distributed to the employees who are in the meeting. The leader of the meeting did have some quality materials and facts to support her objectives. The leader also invited a patient to the meeting, who acted as an advocate and stated his personal needs, as well as needs that other patients had expressed to him. I commend the leader for including the patient on the meeting. It is a good way to make sure that patients’ needs are listened to and taken into account.

Unfortunately, the recent meeting that I attended showcased some ineffective tactics. At the times, the supervisor read from notes and note cards without making solid enough eye contact with the meeting members. Even though the patient was asked for input, the employees’ input or any possible solutions could have been asked for more.

Diversity is also taken into consideration, as well as people’s various communication styles in an effective meeting, something that the leader did well. Everybody should be respected equally in terms of race and ethnicity .

Gauging the emotions of the workers is also important. Making sure that negativity is changed to positivity is helps increase the effectiveness. This will ensure that the meeting atmosphere is conducive for solving issues and creating positive change. The leader asked people to rate their emotions at the start of the meeting and at the end, the members’ emotions better at the end .

As you can see from the meeting that I attended, there are things that can be done to make sure than an effective meeting takes place. This includes respecting employees, planning well, including patients in the meeting, and being concise and clear.

References

• Caron, A. R. (2004). Managing teams effectively. Retrieved from A.R. Caron & Associates Inc. : http://www.alancaron.com/articles/MANAGING%20TEAMS%20EFFECTIVELY.pdf

• Lowe, G. (2010). Creating healthy organizations: how vibrant workplaces inspire employees to achieve sustainable success . Toronto : Rotman/UTP Publishin