Leadership Lessons: 7 Principles of Effective Team Meetings
Holding productive team meetings is essential for every organization. If everybody is displeased with tough work gatherings and ineffective meetups, it’s time to:
- Reconstruct the way you do things
- Focus on purpose, mission, and primary goals
- Remove unnecessary members and/or add new ones
- Demobilize
Successful team meetings will sharpen the focus, motivate members, and move the agenda forward.
How to improve your team meetings today:
1. Encourage successes, both in process and result.
- How does the way we are working together can be applied to you?
- What behaviors are producing success?
2. Show authority. A collection of separate individuals isn’t a team. Successful teams:
- Define problems
- Assign tasks
- Catch opportunities
- Develop solutions
- Dedicate resources
- Create accountability
- Establish schedule
- Evaluate results
3. Understand strengths and weaknesses. Every team member should know the strengths of their team-mates. The important issue is how to focus on strengths that impact the team. Meetings will be shorter when everyone understands each other.
4. Resolve problems. Meetings without issues to solve are a waste of time. You must state problems loudly and clearly. Problem-solving strategy will lead teams against an “enemy.” But, don’t spend all your time defining problems. Successful teams develop and execute imperfect solutions.
5. Select your decision-making method. You should work toward consensus, or someone else will make final decisions. Ask for consensus to strengthen the team spirit. Choose a decision-maker when expertise or short timelines are needed.
6. Ask for participation. Don’t include hobos in your team. If they aren’t contributing, they’re pulling down. Quitters lower the enthusiasm. Fulfillment requires participation.
7. Demobilize. Teams are often formed to address specific situations but exist well beyond the current project. Every three months ask yourself if it’s time to demobilize or restructure.
