Lead Team Meetings (Part 2) | Effective Meeting Management

Sep 24

Intentionality Saves Time and Trouble

Making the most of your meeting time can save hours of confusion, correction, and frustration in the long run. When meetings are not well organized and participants are not engaged, we can struggle to make progress with even the simplest of tasks. Oftentimes, we realize teams within the organization are disconnected or could be doing “double work” because they are operating with incomplete or unclear information.

Below are some meeting practices that can help you make collaborative decisions, communicate consistently, and limit redundant efforts.

01 | THINK AHEAD

Set Clear Objectives for the meeting itself.
Understand if the current gathering requires brainstorming, communicating/informing, discussing scenarios, or making a recommendation or decision.
Include Crucial Collaborators to participate.
Identify who has important knowledge, experience, learning potential, or perspective that can help you understand the topic and the implications of various potential decisions. Share with them their role in the room.
Set a Meeting Rhythm.
Decide how frequently you will need to meet to complete the work in a timely manner, and schedule out the calendar.
Develop and Share an Agenda.
Structure the discussion to allow the team to define our problem, expand their thinking with diverse ideas, narrow down high potential solutions, and clarify outcomes and next steps.
Encourage Participants to Come Prepared.
Send the agenda and the materials that they need to be ready to actively participate ahead of time. Give enough time so that the meeting participants can prepare effectively.
Utilize Shared Systems.
Establish a consistent approach for meetings, agendas, and storage of important materials so that participants know what to expect and how to access information.

02 | TALK WITH PURPOSE

Follow the Agenda.
Open the meeting by reviewing the meeting objective and agenda, and stay on topic. If other things need to be discussed, ask that they be held until the end or put them as a future agenda item.
Include Diverse Perspectives.
Notice who is speaking and who has not yet contributed, and create opportunities for many people to speak. If you are the leader of this team, consider waiting to give your opinion so that others do not simply defer to your ideas.
Honor People’s Time.
Start the meeting on time, pace the agenda according to your meeting timeframe, and dismiss the team to leave once the meeting objective is accomplished.
Be Flexible But Move Forward.
If the team needs more time than anticipated on an agenda item, but the conversation is fruitful, adjust the overall agenda for the group to accommodate this need. You could even pause the meeting to share the adjustment live time and reset expectations.

03 | TRACK THE OUTCOMES

Recap Decisions.
Before the meeting ends, review what decisions were made that day, and confirm that is what the group understood as well.
Identify Tasks and Timelines.
Based on the decisions that were made, identify the next steps that need to be taken and when they need to be completed.
Assign Champions.
Identify which member of the organization will lead the completion of each of the next steps, this person might need to lead a group or could complete it themselves.
Store and Circulate Critical Information.
Notify the team when notes are ready for their use as they carry out the next steps. Keep materials, project management materials, and notes in a shared system or folder so everyone can access them.
Celebrate.
As the team works in accordance with your church’s values and progress is being made, acknowledge the team’s efforts. Encourage them to continue working together to help fulfill the shared mission.