GOFORWARD LLC

Making Meetings Work

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Monday, April 07, 2014 10:04 am

Meetings can be such a waste of time. How do you make them useful? And why can't you just send an email or put a notice up where everyone can see it – or have one of those 5 min stand-up meetings at the beginning of the day?

• Because you are the leader of the group and it is your job to communicate – to them and from them.
• Because effective meetings save time.
• Because people who feel part of something – like a team or a crew or a group – are more likely to stay and more likely to work harder.
• Meetings can - and should - INCREASE productivity.

Making meeting work – is a basic part of being a Supervisor – so let's cover some ways to do it well.

Rule #1 – Make sure that meetings don't take too much of your time or the team's time.

Think about the meetings you have with your team now – assuming you hold them. How often? What topics are covered? Do people participate? Are the meetings effective? If you said yes, how do you know? If you could change ONE thing to make these meetings more effective? And now, what would the team say? Have you asked them?

Meetings –

• Do not have to be boring, or long, or frustrating. They will probably be those things SOME of the time (we're human, after all), but it they are like that ALL of the time – make some changes.
• Have an Agenda – sorry, you have probably read that or been told that approx. 10,000 times. AND – it's still true.
• Meetings are SUPPOSED to be 2 way – you talk, team members talk, everyone listens when someone else is talking. If your team meetings are all one way – you talk and they listen – it ain't working.
• We recommend team meetings every week or every other week. A BARE MINIMUM of every 3 weeks!
• Food – feed them and they will come – what was that movie?? Think about it – budget, keep it easy and fun. Example from one new director to the team – bagels every Friday.
• Capture and review Actions – who does what and when – and Agreements.

These are just some examples - what else can you recommend to make YOUR meetings work?