Are your team meetings dragging on and not accomplishing anything?
Are people zoning out and not paying attention?
If so, it might be time to rethink your approach to team meetings.
Many business owners dread team meetings because they can be very inefficient and unproductive.
However, with a few simple tips, you can turn your team meetings into an effective way to communicate and get things done!
That said, here are 5 tips for leading more effective team meetings.
1. Create a Meeting Agenda
The agenda is one of the most important elements of any team meeting.
Your meeting’s agenda should include all of the items you want to discuss.
If you don’t have a specific agenda in mind, send out a call for suggestions ahead of time.
Limit the discussion to a few key points or hot subjects so that you can address them all during the meeting, and make a note of the result you want or your goal for each discussion subject.
It’s also important to demonstrate how each agenda item affects the company’s bottom line.
Here, you may want to start the meeting with a summary of the prior meeting and any action items accomplished at that meeting.
Lastly, send out your completed agenda 24 to 48 hours before the meeting so that team members have time to prepare – there’s nothing more annoying than being caught off guard!
2. Assign Roles
The leader of the team can’t and shouldn’t do it all.
Someone should be in charge of taking meeting notes. You might even want to make the notetaker change every time there’s a meeting.
On the other hand, consider having a timekeeper to help you stay on track throughout the schedule.
You may have a team member with a specific expertise lead an agenda item. Someone will also need to be in charge of the technology – to ensure that the room has the appropriate tools and how to operate or troubleshoot it.
3. Encourage Participation
Communication and cooperation between team members is crucial to a successful team, particularly when a manager and a direct employee are involved.
In your monthly staff meetings, ask questions like these to get your team talking about their emotions, problems, and desires:
- What was our biggest accomplishment this month? This is an excellent opportunity to celebrate and feel proud of a job well done. It’s also a chance to consider your team or company values in a meaningful context. If what you accomplished was in line with a value that matters to you, tell them so they can internalise it even more.
- What was our biggest challenge this month? Every team faces obstacles that get in the way of their progress toward objectives. These issues will continue to affect productivity and morale if left unaddressed. So, make challenges public, then figure out how to address them.
- What resources would help you succeed? Many individuals believe they could do their work more effectively if they had greater access to technology and other efficiency-boosting tools. Determine what your team desires. Consider how you can give it to them if it’s reasonable and within your budget.
- What’s something we can improve in the company? People might be hesitant to air their frustrations about the firm or its culture, objectives, or plans. Nothing will happen if they don’t express their views, so you need to encourage them to do so.
4. Incorporate Fun
Do you want to develop a team that gets along, communicates well, and enjoys meetings and activities?
If so, by performing some entertaining group meeting games, you may add some fun and excitement to your meetings. When a game is announced in a meeting, it will be a surprise for the team, and they will look forward to future meetings.
For instance, a few team meeting games like brain writing, the anti-problem, trading cards, design the box, and many more will provide something unexpected out of the ordinary dull meetings.
On the other hand, to keep the meeting moving forward, you might invite someone to talk about their experience or provide some interesting material.
Or during the meeting, you may give outstanding people on your team a weekly/monthly award. These team meeting activity suggestions will help break up the monotony and get everyone involved.
5. Follow Up on Actionable Items
If no one follows through on the ideas you presented at the meeting, you’ve just wasted an hour.
And it’s not that people neglect their responsibilities. Rather, something else distracts them and they forget.
So, consider creating a reminder to send an email to your team members 48 hours after the meeting to see whether they’ve completed their action items.
Better yet, connect action items for team members with due dates in your project management system – they’ll be more likely to do it, and your meetings will result in real changes for the next meeting.
Wrapping Up
It’s pointless to go from one meeting to the next without achieving anything. Establish a good objective, stick to a plan, and have a strong motivation, and you’ll be well on your way towards productive meetings.
To learn more, get in touch with us today.
This blog was produced in collaboration with HAR UK and Court of Protection Solicitors: Thaliwal & Veja