I’m sure you know the difference between a truly effective meeting and, well, a dud. I’m sure you’ve attended both. You have even, at times, facilitated both.
The duds can be painful. Long, drawn-out, and often, seemingly pointless. They leave the participants wondering, “Where did my last hour go?”
On the contrary, an effective meeting produces real results and fosters collaboration that leads to greater team success. They leave members feeling that their time has been well spent.
As a leader, it is often your job to ensure that the meetings involving your team are productive and effective. Here’s the key I want you to remember: the success of a meeting is often determined before the meeting actually begins.
In other words, “winging it and hoping for the best” is not the best strategy for leading an effective meeting. You need to plan ahead. As you prepare for your next team meeting, here are a few things to consider:
- Establish your meeting goals:
What is the purpose of your meeting? If you are going to take time out of your (and your team members’) busy schedules, it should be for a good and purposeful reason. What is the reason you are meeting? What are you hoping to achieve through your time together? What do you hope to have accomplished by the end of your meeting?
- Create an agenda:
Too many meetings are derailed by tangent conversations and off-topic discussions. Taking the time to map out a clear agenda can help you avoid this trap. Keep in mind, each of your agenda items should be aligned to your primary meeting objectives. Ask yourself:
“Does this agenda item move us towards the overall meeting goal?”
If the answer is “yes” – put it on the agenda!
If the answer is “no” – save it for another time.
- Prep your team ahead of time:
Preparation is key – not just for you, but for your team members. Giving them the opportunity to prepare for the meeting ahead of time will lead to more effective and fruitful collaboration.
You can prepare your team for the meeting by:
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- Providing them the meeting agenda at least 48 hours before the meeting (preferably longer)
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- Give them reflection questions to consider before arriving
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- Assign specific tasks or roles so that members can come prepared to take the lead on different portions of the meeting
- Troubleshoot technology before the meeting:
Have you ever been to a meeting where the presenter goes to turn on their computer and…systems are updating. Or perhaps the wifi won’t connect or the video doesn’t have sound.
Technology has a bad habit of derailing productive meeting time.
Do your due diligence and set aside 30-60 minutes BEFORE the meeting starts to troubleshoot your technology. This way, if your computer decides it’s time for a twenty-minute update or your speakers aren’t working, you have plenty of time to resolve the issues before your participants arrive.
Meetings are an important part of any team or organization. They provide the opportunity for shared ideas and collaboration.
What are your best meeting tips and strategies?
Have you made any changes since working remotely?
Let us know in the comments below so we can help spread tips about what is working well in different sectors and communities.
Article was contributed by: Maria Lees, Team Writer with Sarah Boxx
