Walking meetings are just great!

After trying walking meetings Posted by Lena Barinova on August 29, 2013 Know-how

Some time ago I wrote a short Walking meetings post about my intention to conduct mid-year evaluation meetings with colleagues outside the office while walking. So here are some insights how it went.

In short: I loved it.

In details: I scheduled these meetings in advance (as always) with some guided questions to gather up the ideas for talk, noticing everyone that we would be outside. Each meeting went by the same schema: we grab a coffee and went to a quiet place - by the river mostly. Everything else as in usual 1:1 - small talk, questions, answers, overview of what happened, plans for future, mutual feedback, etc. In comparison to traditional evaluation meetings, these were more relaxed, easy going, we discussed more things than usual.

It is definitely not for every possible meeting. When you take notes, or show some data, or there are more than 3 attendees - you need something else. But if you are just talking, asking/answering questions - go out! Just remember to check the weather and find not very busy place for a walk.

PS: in total I went 25 km this time!