How to Run Effective Team Meetings

Here are some tips on how you can make sure to always have an effective and engaging team meeting.

1. Have a Clear Agenda

It's quite important to have a purpose for each meeting, otherwise it might become a time waster for your team. What is the purpose of your team meeting? What do you want to share during the meeting? Is it beneficial for everyone? What do you want to come out of the meeting?

2. Determine Who Should Attend

Now that you know your meeting’s purpose, who do you think should be in the meeting? Does the whole team need to be in it or just select team members? Who are the ones involved in the topic you will discuss? Whose inputs do you need to get? Time has high value, both for company and for people. You must be certain that only the right people is summoned to the meeting.

3. Set Your Schedule

Set a date and time for your schedule and as much as possible schedule it ahead of time. Give your attendees plenty of notice so they can prepare and ensure their attendance. You can use your team meeting agenda to assess how much time you will allocate for each topic. An hour is the common team meeting length. Anything beyond that could be counterproductive. But while an hour is the norm, there’s no stopping you from keeping your meetings much shorter. And if you get to finish earlier than your schedule, then wrap it up and don’t let it drag on for too long. The rule is this one: A meeting must be as long as needed, not one minute longer.

4. Stick to Your Agenda

This one is a complicated one. We, the people, have this sense of urgency that encourages us to discuss the subjects as soon as they come out. Usually, this unexpected topics take a lot of time, distract us from the main agenda and are not usually properly prepared. Avoid getting sidetracked by other discussions or topics. If you feel that it’s a necessary discussion to be had, then set up another time to discuss it.

5. Determine Action Items

Any action items from the meeting should be properly documented and communicated. Determine who’s responsible for them and also set target deadlines for completion. You also need to set how you’re going to follow up on these action items. Clear instructions become clear outcomes.

6. Encourage Feedback

This is an important one! Just because you set up the meeting, doesn’t mean you’re the only one who gets to talk. Encourage your team members to give their inputs and feedback. Give everyone the chance to speak. You’ll be surprised at how much you can get done when everyone participates. You should also get your team’s feedback on how your meeting went and what they think can be improved.

Did you enjoy reading this 6 tips? Check this post about 5 tips for a sprint planning meeting that I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

What do you think? Which one of these points is the most important? Tell us in the comments of write me at eric@sendoagil.com.

Have a very productive day!