Conducting Effective Team Meetings Is A Priority For Every Team Leader
Meetings are expensive in terms of time and money. What was the most effective meeting you ever led or attended? What was your worst meeting? What set them apart?
The following are some tips to consider when planning your next meeting.
Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!
Spending adequate time preparing for a meeting is essential. Creating a strong agenda makes conducting your meeting easy. The agenda is your road map. Include the topics of discussion, who is responsible for topics and the amount of time allowed.
Prepare and share backup information that attendees will need. Make sure that you share the agenda and any backup information to attendees before your meeting so that they will be ready to meet.
Location, Location, Location!
Where you conduct your team meeting is important. You will want to meet in a quiet, undistracted location. The room should be comfortable and large enough for your group. Make sure the meeting room has the equipment necessary for your presentation. Sometimes it is good to meet away from your normal location for some fresh thoughts and ideas.
Stay on Track
Meeting with a group of colleagues, it is so easy to get off track – and hard to get back on! Someone makes a comment that while important or interesting is not on track, and the whole conversation goes another direction. Sometimes the issue needs further discussion; other times it can wait for another meeting. That’s where a strong agenda can help. As the facilitator it is your responsibility to keep the meeting focused and on track, and bring it back when it goes off grid.
Participate Well
Be prepared to listen well and seek the participation of all team members. Different opinions must be heard and considered. Open and honest conversation should be encouraged. All team members should be focused on the meeting and not multi-tasking with their cell phones, reading other material or fidgeting with gadgets. It is also important not to try to solve every issue brought up, but rather to assign actions to team members for further consideration.
End on Time!
Keep to the time planned for the meeting. Team members should be made aware of the timeframe of the meeting. The team leader needs to ensure that the meeting goes well, by ending well – ON TIME!