Too many in a meeting?

July 30, 2024 HBR

When setting up a meeting, the people you invite are just as important as
what you need to get done. Including too many people — or too few — can be a waste of
time for everyone involved. Many a times it is easy by default to inviting a crowd of people to
a meeting — that way, you don’t really have to identify the most critical participants, you’ll
avoid any ruffled feathers, you’ll have everyone involved on hand for a decision, and you
won’t have to repeat your communications separately afterward. Or maybe your tendency is
to want to keep things small: You may be tempted to invite just a small group of people
whom we value the most.

But is important that we have only the right people in the meeting for it to be useful. Too
many attendees makes us lose focus and too little attendees might affect having the right
decision makers in the meeting. Some things to keep in mind when extending the invite to
the meetings and to include ONLY the following:
– The key decision makers
– The attendees with information and knowledge about the topics under discussion
– People who have a commitment to or a stake in the outcome of the meeting
– Anyone who will be required to implement any decisions made

If you decide not to invite individuals you listed as likely to be affected by the
meeting’s outcome, have a plan to communicate the substance of the meeting to them
afterward.