Or how to avoid Avoid Crappy Meetings – aka #FailedMeetings
Team meetings don’t have to a pain in your side, or anxiety in morning coffee. Let’s face up to what you may be feeling when a meeting is called, and how you can turn this annoyance into a productive, effective and potentially a team building event.
Have you experienced any of the following….
- When you get an email invite to a “team meeting” and your stomach immediately turns into 🤢knots?...and then you ask your desk mate what is up?
- When the meeting is coming up all you can think of is what did we / I do wrong? Or this is another ‘we love Janice’ meeting?
- When you call a meeting and your team immediately come into your office asking ‘what is wrong’ 😥or ‘what’s up boss’?
- When the President calls 📣 a last minute meeting and the rumours are spiralling 🌪out of control.
I am sure you have delt with one or all of these feelings of dread and uncertainty – I know I have! The idea of meeting once or maybe even weekly may make some stomachs just turn🤢 .
Next consider: When you arrive at the meeting you find out the focus / purpose is about:
- Someone Making A Change – Process, procedure, ‘must do’
- Advising of an Org Change – Hiring, Firing, or Movement
- Shitting on the team for poor sales – aka their form of Motivation
- They were told to have these meetings by “their Boss” – and they use “air quotes”
- Or the just love the sound of their voice 🎤
Body of Invite: ………..nothing…………..
Your Feelings: Oh Shit Balls
Want to know WHY you are feeling this way when a Team Meeting is called?
You might be feeling this way because these meetings are not the ‘norm’ within your work culture. There may be way too much uncertainty and lack of trust that these meetings will be productive and/or supportive. So unfortunately your first instinct is to go into defensive mode, and then possible panic, and then defeat.
These ‘last min’ meetings can be toxic mentally, physically and emotionally if they are occasionally happening….or not happening at all.
The good news (yes there is good news) there is definitely opportunity to improve meetings by increasing the number of meetings….yes up’ing the meetings...keep reading!
To keep it simple to SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the feelings of dread – you or your Leader need to be consistent with your team meetings. This theme, and the following tips, can be applied to any Annual, Quarterly, Monthly and even development meetings.
How to KICK OFF and START Productive Team Meetings – #WinningMeetings
Tip 1: Team Meetings MUST be Consistent – Weekly
Hosting team meetings doesn’t meet 1/2 day planning sessions, and they don’t always need to be over 1/2 hour. A team WEEKLY meeting should be structured in a way that is a touch point for the team to get together and ensure everyone is on the same page.
Other Meetings are dedicated to projects, brainstorming, planning and so forth. Team meetings are not the same as ‘other meetings’.
When you are sharing information frequently/consistently – in person – it will increase communication between you and your team. The more open communication should lead to increased trust, honesty and respect….thus reducing a lot of anxiety that would been there when there is no consistently.
Tip 2: Kick off Your Team Meetings with A Meeting 🤦♀️
Here’s the thing – if you haven’t been having/hosting these meetings it is TIME TO START. There is no shame is finally getting around to starting – just book the meeting and gett’er done.
No Excuses!! Do not put it off one more week, or wait till someone is back from leave, or after a project launch. There is no better time to start than now – book it for tomorrow!
Again – I encourage you to be transparent about why you are having these meetings. Let your team know ‘it is about time we start meeting weekly,’ and that you would like to get their input in what THEY want to see at the team meetings.
Subject: Team Meetings – Kicking off Weekly Meetings
Body:
Hey Team – I would like to start hosting WEEKLY team meetings. This will be a great time for us ALL to catch up, share any news that is going on, and ensure we are all on the same page – oh and recognize some awesomeness that maybe happening within our team.
Our first meeting (this meeting) will be an informal planning session. I want us to gather all of our insight into what we want to cover at our weekly team meetings.
It will be my responsibility to send out a weekly agenda prior to our meeting, and the agenda will include any insight or insider information about what is happening in our Company and/or Business.
Prep for this meeting is NADDA – come with an open mind and let’s chat.
See you tomorrow!
Tip 3: Setting an Agenda for Team Meetings
After your planning session with the team there should be a good consensus of what future team meetings will look like. If you are the Leader you ultimately have the final say on what the agenda will look like, but consider what your team is looking for and try to accommodate their ‘needs or wants’ into the meetings. Your Teams meetings should be built on trust, honesty and respect.
Suggested Agenda:
- Team Wins
- Team Process Changes – or Issues – if any
- Sharing – What’s happening in your team/project
- Insiders News – Any update to org changes
- Next Week Focus
Start on time and kick off with reviewing the agenda. After the meeting provide a quick recap, and thank everyone for their time – you appreciate it.
Recommendation: Document your weekly meeting and keep them stored in a shared drive so those that miss your mtg (holidays, sick) can get caught up on what was discussed. In your meeting notices include a link to the shared folder with your agendas and mtg notes.
Tip 4: Keep your Meeting under an hour – 1/2 hour is best!
In the beginning I would suggest booking an hour for your meetings – keep the date and time consistent. Book all your meetings for the next year – yes this is administrative but will ensure the team meetings are always on your schedule.
Overtime some of your meetings could end up being five minutes. But those five minutes are still worth it to come together and let your WHOLE team know that all is well in the world and they are doing a great job! Five minutes can go a long way.
No news is not bad news, but ignoring no news can lead to confusion or concern…rumours, assumptions, water cooler talk, and anxiety.
Team Meetings – #SuccessfulTeamMeetings
To wrap Team Meetings I want YOU to take away the fear of the unknown when it comes to Team Meetings (or even meetings in general) – this fear can lead to so much distraction in the workplace, unnecessary drama, and ultimately lack of production.
Being consistent, transparent and have fun!
If you are a teammate – and not the Leader – I encourage you to talk with your Leader about how you would like to start having team meetings. Suggest the benefits and a potential agenda. Don’t TELL them you want a meeting, talk about having the meeting.
Happy Team Meetings!
Jen –
p.s. If you are struggling to have this discussion with your Leader, or if you are a Leader that wants to start these meetings and are nervous – give me a call and let’s talk through it. Either emotions are normal – and are fixable.
📷: Unsplash – Mark West, You X Ventures , JESHOOTS.COM , Dane Deaner