Meetings Don’t Have to be Miserable! Planning to Improve Staff Engagement

McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Robyn Kelton, M.A. | October 22, 2024

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

Not-so-fun fact: 17% of employees would rather watch paint dry than attend a status meeting. 1


If staff in your program are not jumping for joy when you announce an upcoming staff meeting, don’t worry—they are in good company. In fact, many of us would rather do just about anything else than sit in a meeting, often because we perceive the meetings we are required to attend as unproductive, irrelevant, and frustrating.2 It should come as no surprise then that many meeting attendees admit they don’t actively participate in required meetings. One study, for example, found that 73% of meeting attendees reported using meeting time to do unrelated work, and 90% reported daydreaming during meetings.2 Even more worrisome is that many meeting leaders seem to have opposite perspectives and report that the meetings they lead are very productive.3 This suggests a disconnect, where leaders overestimate the effectiveness of their meetings while attendees are scrolling on their phones and daydreaming about dinner.

people sitting around a table with a sign that says can we brainstorm some ideas about why this meeting should be over

My colleague Wendy Connell and I recently created a new self-paced online module for leaders called, Communication in the Workplace: Crafting Connections, Managing Meetings, and Resolving Rifts. Along with exploring communication styles and conflict resolution, the module examines how to transform meeting dread into exciting and productive opportunities for staff to feel seen and heard. To do this, we share several strategies for leading more effective meetings. In doing so, we also address a few common meeting challenges and provide strategies to combat the issues. Below is one example of a common challenge with meetings, lack of engagement and some of the strategies we share in the module to increase staff investment and participation.

LACK OF ENGAGEMENT


Both meeting attendees and leaders are frustrated by the lack of participation and engagement. Attendees don’t want to be lectured, and meeting leaders don’t want to stare out at a sea of people texting under the table or staring into the abyss. Below are four strategies to help leaders craft a meeting agenda that fosters participant engagement and sets the stage for effective and enjoyable meeting experiences.


CRAFT AN AGENDA THAT FOSTERS ENGAGEMENT3


1. Put staff to work on the agenda. Get staff invested in the meeting from the start by asking them to help you plan the meeting. As you begin to draft an agenda, email staff and ask them what topics they feel are important to discuss during the meeting. This communicates to staff that you value their input, provides insight into the areas they are worried or excited about, and helps make the best use of meeting time by focusing on topics relevant to those in attendance.


2. Give staff pre-work. If you dream of the day when staff arrive at your meeting ready to engage, give them pre-meeting tasks, such as brainstorming ideas, reflecting on their thoughts, or researching answers. Let’s say, for example, you recently updated your program’s family handbook and want to ensure that staff read and understand the updated policies before they go into effect. Instead of reviewing each updated policy in detail during the meeting, send them to staff in advance for review. Use technology – such as email replies, a Doodle poll, a survey, or a shared Google doc – to collect comments, questions, and concerns before the meeting. This approach serves multiple purposes: it allows staff adequate time to closely read and reflect on the policies themselves without the influence of groupthink, gives you a sense of staff’s thoughts and feelings, and helps you plan how to best use the meeting time to address questions or concerns that have been raised. Additionally, it frees up meeting time for deeper discussions around the policy. A bonus benefit to this strategy is that it provides the time and a comfortable space for shy or more introverted staff to share their opinions without the pressure of an audience.

3. Limit information overload. Meetings are social activities in which participants are invested and engaged with the content and everyone has a chance to have their thoughts heard. As you plan your agenda, remind yourself of the various memes and coffee mugs that say something like, “I survived another meeting that could have been an email.” Then, review your agenda items and note how many involve one or two people simply sharing information with the group compared to those that engage attendees in activities and discussions. If your meeting agenda includes a large portion of time when only one or two people are sharing information, it might be time to consider an email. Meetings offer a rare chance for staff to be together and it’s important for leaders to use that to their advantage. Most of the time, you can disseminate important information in advance of a meeting and then use the meeting time focus only on critical components and opportunities for active participation, like group dialogue, consensus voting, or action planning. This approach will help staff feel that their presence at meetings matter and that their time is not being wasted.

A man holds up a sign that says that meeting could have been an e-mail

4. Transform agenda items into problems to be solved.3,4 Who doesn’t love a good mystery to solve?! This is one of my favorite strategies to make meetings more effective and enjoyable because it taps into our natural tendency to enjoy problem-solving. To put this strategy into practice, simply reframe your agenda items as problems to be solved or complex questions to be answered.


  • For example, imagine your program is preparing for upcoming family-teacher conferences and you want to make sure staff understand why conferences are a critical part of supporting young children’s learning and development. You also want to help them use conferences to forge stronger relationships with families.
  • Rather than listing the agenda topic as Preparing for teacher-family conferences try reframing the topic into two questions for staff to ponder: 1) In what ways does having a dedicated time to speak with a child’s family one-on-one (as opposed to talking with families in-passing at pick-up or drop-off), help you better support that child’s growth and development? 2) If you only had 30 minutes for a staff meeting on the topic of family-teacher conferences, what would you say are the three most important topics to discuss? Why?


Curiosity and problem-solving are great motivators for learning. By transforming agenda topics into questions, you’re likely to capture staff’s attention and capitalize on their natural tendency to want to solve things.


Patrick Lencioni said, “The majority of meetings should be discussions that lead to decisions.” However, most of us never received formal training on conducting meetings. So, it is no surprise that many meetings cause frustration. Hopefully, the strategies listed above and the reflection questions below will help you leverage your planning efforts in ways that lead to more effective, efficient, and engaging meetings.


For more strategies on making meetings a little less miserable, as well as other topics related to communication in the early childhood workplace, check out the Communication in the Workplace module or contact PAS.BAS@nl.edu to inquire about virtual or in-person training options.


Please download the resource to access our Meeting Leader Reflection Questions.


RESOURCES AND REFERENCES


1Zetlin, M. (2015). 17 Percent of Employees Would Rather Watch Paint Dry Than Attend Meetings: Try these alternatives instead. Inc. https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/17-percent-of-employees-would-rather-watch-paint-dry-than-attend-team-meetings.html


2Leach, D., Rogelberg, S., Warr, P., & Burnfield, J. (2009). Perceived Meeting Effectiveness: The Role of Design Characteristics. Journal of Business and Psychology. 24. 65-76. 10.1007/s10869-009-9092-6.


3Kelton, R. & Connell, W. (2024). Communication in the Workplace: Crafting Connections, Managing Meetings, and Resolving Rifts. Center for Early Childhood Leadership, McCormick Institute, National Louis University. https://mccormickcenterelearning.nl.edu/ets/store/


4Grant, A. (Host). (2023, September 26). Why meetings suck and how to fix them. Worklife [Audio podcast]. TED. https://www.ted.com/podcasts/worklife/why-meetings-suck-and-how-to-fix-them-transcript

Robyn Kelton, M.A., is the Director of Research and Evaluation for the McCormick Institute’s Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University (NLU). In this role, Robyn oversees work related to the McCormick Center’s research interests and evaluation and quality support tools including Program Administration Scale (PAS) and Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS), the Early Childhood Work Environment Survey (ECWES), and the Administrator Role Perception Survey (ARPS). Robyn also oversees research related to the evaluation needs of the professional learning initiatives at the Center as well as the relationship between evaluation tools and program quality, workforce retention, and leadership development. Other research interests include cognitive and developmental psychology, memory development, and learning. Robyn holds a Baccalaureate degree in psychology from the University of Kansas (KU) and a Masters of Arts degree in psychology with an advanced certificate of study in organizational psychology from NLU. Robyn is currently a doctoral candidate in the brain, behavior, and quantitative science Ph.D. psychology program at KU. Prior to joining the McCormick Center in 2006, Robyn worked as a lead teacher in a kindergarten classroom for an after-school program and a lead teacher of a 4-5 year old classroom in a child care center.


Robyn.kelton@nl.edu | 847.947.5698

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A Leadership Coaching Model for Impact: Building on Decades of Evidence and Experience at the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

By Natalia Ambrozek, Wendy Connell, Lisa Downey, Robyn Kelton, Leslie Layman, Erin Cetera • July 23, 2026
Natalia Ambrozek, B.S. , is a Leadership Coach and Training Specialist at the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University. Natalia earned a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education with a concentration in French at DePaul University and has since completed her ESL endorsement. She has served in the McCormick Institute as an Assessor and Quality Assessment Coordinator prior to her role as a Leadership Coach. Previously, Natalia taught for over 10 years in Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms in Chicago and has experience as an Assistant Director. Natalia is also part of the Illinois Southland chapter of NAEYC and an alumnus of the Maria Whelan Leadership Institute. Wendy Connell, M.Ed. , is the Manager of Early Childhood Leadership Coaching at the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood. Wendy has been with the organization since 2017, serving as the IDHS Report and Certification Specialist, then Leadership Coach for the Smart Start Quality Support program. She is also an adjunct professor in ECE at Waubonsee Community College. Throughout her career, Wendy has been a director of early childhood programs, an elementary school teacher, educator, volunteer coordinator, supervisor, and family child care provider. Dr. Lisa Downey is the Executive Director of the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University (NLU), where she oversees all programming and operations. She leads a team of 75 staff dedicated to advancing the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) profession through leadership, applied research, community and policy engagement, and innovative professional preparation. With over 35 years of experience in the field, Dr. Downey’s career includes roles as a toddler classroom teacher, child care center director, Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) resource developer, training coordinator, and Director of Provider Services at Illinois Action for Children, where she managed CCR&R professional development for the Chicago area. She has been a faculty member at NLU for more than 15 years. Today, Dr. Downey focuses on addressing the complex challenges facing the ECEC workforce, creating scalable solutions that support the profession and ensure children, families, and communities thrive now and in the future. Robyn Kelton, M.A. , is the Director of Data and Evaluation for the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University (NLU). In this role, Robyn oversees the McCormick Institute’s research interests regarding evaluation and quality support tools, including Program Administration Scale (PAS) and Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS), the Early Childhood Work Environment Survey (ECWES), and the Administrator Role Perception Survey (ARPS). Robyn also oversees research related to the evaluation needs of the professional learning initiatives at the Institute as well as the relationship between evaluation tools and program quality, workforce retention, and leadership development. Other research interests include cognitive and developmental psychology, memory development, and learning. Robyn holds a Baccalaureate degree in psychology from the University of Kansas (KU) and a Masters of Arts degree in psychology with an advanced certificate of study in organizational psychology from NLU. Robyn is currently a doctoral candidate in the brain, behavior, and quantitative science Ph.D. psychology program at KU. Prior to joining the McCormick Institute in 2006, Robyn worked as lead teacher in a kindergarten classroom for an after-school program and lead teacher of a 4-5 year old classroom at a child care center. Leslie Layman, M.S. , is the Senior Director of Professional Learning and Innovation at the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University. In this role, she supports professional learning, including training, academies, coaching, and learning design. Prior to joining McCormick, Leslie was the Director of Early Childhood Education Strategic Initiatives at National Louis University, Director-Teaching and Learning Programs at Harry S. Truman College, and had many years of experience in early intervention, home visiting, and supporting children with developmental delays and their families. She holds Baccalaureate degrees in Psychology and Italian from University of Wisconsin, and a Master of Science in Child Development with a specialization in children with special needs from Erikson Institute. Erin Cetera, M.S. , serves as Senior Director of Quality Assessment at the McCormick Institute for Early Childhood at National Louis University (NLU), where she leads a team of nearly 40 professionals who conduct program assessments and deliver quality improvement training throughout Illinois. With more than four decades of experience in early childhood education, Erin has held a wide range of leadership and instructional roles, including preschool teacher, child care center administrator, college demonstration center director, and adjunct faculty member, teaching early childhood education courses for over 20 years. She joined NLU in 2018 as an Assessor and Training Specialist and has since advanced to her current leadership role. Today, Erin is dedicated to highlighting the steady improvements taking place in early childhood programs across Illinois. Guided by a deep commitment to young children, their families, and the professionals who support them, she champions efforts to create high-quality learning environments that foster positive outcomes for all. Let me know if you need anything else.
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