Most team meetings are a waste of time. 7 dead-simple tips…

Team meetings are a staple of work life.

At their best, they’re highly valuable.

At their worst, they:

• Lack focus
• Lack structure
• Waste your time

I’ve run many good ones (and bad ones).

Here are 7 tips to help make them better:

1. Rotate ownership

The leader doesn’t always need to lead.

Rotate who runs each team meeting.

The benefits:

• Keeps the meeting fresh
• Helps your team build skills
• Encourages new ideas + voices
• Drives engagement + ownership

My team meetings immediately improved.

2. Educate beforehand

Too much meeting time is spent educating.

That should be done in writing beforehand.

Require an email 24 hours prior that covers:

• Topic
• Context
• Why it’s being discussed
• Desired outcome of discussion

This alone can cut meeting times in half.

3. Focus on outcomes, not time

Meeting agendas often focus on time.

• Discuss marketing budget (15 mins)
• Review new product (30 mins)

Instead, focus them on outcomes.

• Decide marketing budget
• Make decision on feature

When outcomes are achieved, end the meeting.

4. Batch agenda items

Different topics require different headspaces.

It can be helpful to batch items. Example:

• Start with “rapid fire” decisions
• These are items that are quickly resolved
• This creates quick positive momentum

Then switch to the deeper agenda items.

5. Mix tactical with development

Team meetings are a great for development.

My favorite idea:

• Dedicate 1 meeting / month to development
• Have a team member teach their best skill
• The team gets to learn new skills
• The teacher gets to share their strengths

Win-win.

6. Bring in guest speakers

Invite people from other orgs.

Give them 30 minutes to present.

The benefits:

• Keeps the meeting fresh
• Keeps your team informed
• Helps build key relationships
• Fosters further development

I'd do this at least 2x per quarter.

7. Experiment

Audit meetings at least 1x per quarter.

Then iterate on team feedback.

A few levers you can adjust:

• Cadence - try multiple, shorter session
• Duration - try different meeting lengths
• Format - try various styles

Don't settle. Continually optimize.

7 tips to make your team meetings better:

• Experiment
• Rotate ownership
• Batch agenda items
• Educate beforehand
• Spend time on development
• Invite people from other orgs
• Focus on outcomes, not time

That's it for now.

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