Before you schedule a team meeting or discussion, make sure you have a clear purpose, agenda, and outcome for it. Define the objectives, topics, and questions that you want to cover, and share them with your team in advance. This will help you to set the expectations, prepare the materials, and allocate the time for each item. You should also invite only the relevant people who can contribute or benefit from the meeting or discussion, and avoid unnecessary interruptions or distractions.
Part of the planning should include a list of who is expected at the meeting and what their area of responsibility and/or expertise is. This is so that you can plan to call on them during pertinent agenda items or when topics come up organically that you would want their input on, in case they do not voluntarily chime in. Not everyone feels empowered to champion their responsibility/expertise, some need to be prompted.
As a team leader, your role is to facilitate the meeting or discussion, not to dominate it. This means that you should encourage participation, listen actively, ask open-ended questions, summarize key points, and clarify any misunderstandings. You should also manage the dynamics of the group, such as dealing with conflicts, disagreements, or divergent views, and ensuring that everyone has a chance to speak and be heard. You can use different techniques, such as brainstorming, voting, or feedback loops, to foster collaboration and creativity.
- Facilitation means doing your part in fostering an organizational culture that values efficient and effective meetings. - Dynamics such as conflict, transparency in group settings (lack of), allowing for everyone to have a voice, can be microcosms of your larger organization. - When appropriate, do homework before facilitating, and get feedback afterwards. Practice continual improvement and behaviors oriented towards driving results, not just coming away from a meeting with copious notes!
It's not just about you facilitating, but giving the chance for others to step up and facilitate themselves. As a leader it's also an art to let other take the lead and host the team; giving you the space to be on par with the remaining ones and also be facilitated yourself.
As a team member, your role is to participate in the meeting or discussion, not to be passive or silent. This means that you should contribute your ideas, opinions, and insights, as well as respect and acknowledge those of others. You should also be prepared, focused, and attentive, and avoid multitasking, interrupting, or criticizing. You can use different skills, such as active listening, critical thinking, or problem-solving, to enhance your participation and engagement.
Being actively engaged in meetings is critical. This is even more important as more people work in a remote/hybrid environment. We all often have things we want to share but can refrain for many reasons. - Is the meeting a space you feel safe sharing? - Are power dynamics keeping you from having your ideas taken seriously? - Did the person that called the meeting provide an agenda and ask for you to attend while also providing an opportunity for others to share? - Are people “sharing the air” in the meeting and allowing others to share their thoughts? - When you do engage, are people responding with “yes and” or “yes but”; there is a difference. A meeting that vocally welcomes input encourages people to be present and share.
After the meeting or discussion, you should follow up with your team to ensure that the outcomes are clear, documented, and communicated. You should also assign and track the action items, responsibilities, and deadlines that were agreed upon, and provide or request feedback on the process and the results. You should also evaluate the effectiveness of the meeting or discussion, and identify any areas for improvement or learning.
Feedback from meeting participants on the value of the meeting is crucial. It provides an opportunity to gain additional insights on what worked well, what can be improved and more importantly what can be discarded. Feedback is also a great tool to move people from being passive participants to active contributors in meetings. When you implement feedback and give recognition to your team for their contributions it will foster more open and productive discussions.
Depending on the context, you may have to facilitate and participate in team meetings and discussions in different ways. For example, if you are working remotely, you may have to use online tools, such as video conferencing, chat, or collaboration platforms, to communicate and interact with your team. You may also have to consider the time zones, cultures, and preferences of your team members, and adjust your style and approach accordingly. You should also be flexible and open to change, as the needs and goals of your team may evolve over time.
Facilitating and participating in team meetings and discussions are skills that you can develop and improve over time. You can do this by seeking feedback, learning from others, and practicing regularly. You can also use various resources, such as books, courses, or podcasts, to learn more about team leadership, communication, and collaboration. By developing your skills, you can enhance your performance, confidence, and influence as a team leader and a team member.
We are already in the Digital Era. I am a firm believer that the meeting minutes should also be available digitally for everyone to be able to access. This need to ensure everyone is paying attention during the meeting is like forcing a student to learn something when they clearly arent interested that day. A passive proactive approach will go a long way. BONUS is that the meeting is fully documented.
We use the L10 meeting approach. This method captures all the points already made in a nice framework. We also use instantagencytools.com to facilitate our meetings.
The Level 10 meeting approach is really helpful for leadership meetings. It helps to keep meetings focused and has been a good way I found to get problems solved. It is, however important to guide team members to getting to the root cause of a problem (Five Whys) which can be hard… but is critical if you are going to effectively solve issues.