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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