Running an effective meeting is a skill every successful leader should have. Don’t waste your time or your team’s time. Check out these quick tips to run an effective meeting.
We’ve all been there. You’re in a meeting, and your boss is droning on and on. The conversation is running in circles, and you don’t know why the weird dude from the mail room is here.
We all know what it’s like to have ineffective meetings led by unproductive leaders. So don’t be like your boss.
How you conduct a meeting can define you as a leader your team wants to follow or as the boss no one listens to.
Here are some quick tips for leading an effective meeting.
1. Start and stop the meeting on time
Utilizing every second of time will help your meeting be efficient and productive. Sure, someone may be late, and sure, it’s polite to wait for them, but does it benefit the meeting? Not really. The other team members who did make it on time should not be punished for someone else’s tardiness.
This is especially important in the days of quarantine 2020. Virtual meetings over face-to-face or conference calls are imperative to productivity when working from home. However, not all Wi-Fi is created equal.
Technical issues will delay virtual meetings. If you were to wait for every team member to fix their Wi-fi when it fails, the meeting would be counterproductive.
Additionally, end the meeting right on time. By ending the meeting promptly, you can show your team that you respect their time and set a pace for the meeting.
2. Stick to your agenda
Speaking of pace, having an agenda is crucial to keeping the meeting on time and efficiently.
As team members start vibing and the ideas start flowing, everyone can forget that time flies when you’re having fun. That’s what your agenda is for.
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Plan out time intervals for brainstorming, delegate responsibility for projects, and designate what topics might need more time.
By sticking to your agenda, you can prioritize what your team needs to focus on to be as productive as possible, both in the meeting and toward the team’s long-term goal.
3. Inspire focus
You’ve started the meeting on time, you have your agenda, and then everyone is looking at their phone.
Multitasking during a meeting can be risky, especially if you want to be efficient.
Multitasking in itself is efficient, but during a meeting, it can take away focus from the priorities that help accomplish your team’s goal.
At the beginning of the meeting, request that no electronics are out or to be used during the duration of your team’s time together. Afterwards, suggest that your team take handwritten notes to remember the meeting in more detail.
Food and drink are typical staples when it comes to a meeting, but they can be just as distracting as electronics. Just imagine: someone is crunching loudly on chips, no one can answer your questions because their mouth is full, and everyone is more concerned about who is gonna get the last cookie than your wicked cool PowerPoint.
The next tip will help your team focus even more during the meeting at hand!
4. Keep things brief and to the point
Keeping things short and sweet will benefit everyone.
The information is easier to digest, it’s harder to get off topic, and the meeting becomes more efficient.
It will also help you keep your team’s priorities in check and keep your meetings on time.
5. Utilize positive reinforcement
The meeting so far has been a success and your team has done a great job at actively listening and engaging with each other.
Use positive validation regarding their work to keep up the good behavior. There are various ways to do this but one simple way is with snacks.
While snacks and beverages may be considered a distraction during the meeting, offer snack time at the end for a job well done.
That way there is an incentive and reward for an efficient meeting.
In addition, at the end of the meeting, plan some time in your agenda to share final thoughts about your meeting and share your appreciation for the work your team is doing.
A meeting with your team is one of the few times in management when your team can actually coexist and work together. It’s also one of the few occasions when the team can view you as a leader rather than a talking head to report to. With these tips, not only will your meeting run efficiently, but your team will view you as a productive leader.
