How can you make team meetings more productive?

In my experience, I've found that injecting a personal touch into team meetings can greatly improve their productivity and engagement. Alongside defining the purpose and agenda, take the time to understand each team member's individual goals, strengths, and preferences. Tailor the meeting structure and content to align with their needs, providing opportunities for them to contribute in ways that showcase their unique skills and perspectives. By enabling a sense of personal connection and empowerment, you create an environment where team members feel valued, motivated, and eager to actively participate in the meeting discussions.

I use a RAG report as framework for our meetings. Red for P1/Priority Issues that I will already know about but as a record of what has been achieved and what the next actions are. Amber for things that need to be aware of, ongoing projects etc. Green for all Successes and good news. Also AOB. It keeps us focused and then conversations in the timeslot flow.

Learn from sports teams. 1/ Set the goal: sports teams know what outcome to aim for 2/ Invest in preparation: sports teams assign roles and preparation required to succeed 3/ Have an agenda: sports teams take time to align on a winning strategy 4/ Have the meeting: sports teams keep their eyes on the goal (pause the conversations that don't serve the outcome) 5/ Recap & reflect: sports teams know when the outcome is achieved (or not) and what to do next #TheGoodBusy

To add to this its equally important to recognise people that may not be present in the meeting for whatever reason - perhaps they were not invited and should have been, perhaps they couldn't make it but would make a valuable contribution or they might be joining slightly later etc. Its good practice and makes for a more inclusive meeting.

This is a powerful way to keep the meeting on track. I love the idea of posting ground rules. We suggest listing the vision and mission and values as well. This anchors the meeting content moving it in the overall right direction.

I love the tool of setting up meeting norms or ground rules, especially for larger meetings, meetings consisting of people who don't regularly come together, or for longer meetings like offsites. This can be really lightweight and take less than 5 minutes. Pose the question of what agreements or ground rules are needed for people to be able to fully participate, capture them, and (if in person) post them where everyone can see them or (if virtual) add them to the chat so everyone can reference them.

Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren’t adding value. It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time.

If you are the “leader” in the meeting, the best way to have a productive team meeting is to be the last one to talk, and when you do talk, ask a question. And remember this, a wise person’s question always contains half the answer. Just want to add that I am crap at this. I talk first, lots, loud and long. It’s a journey…

To encourage engagement in a meeting invest in preparation. Make sure all roles are assigned and participants know what to prepare. > who is leading the meeting > what are the roles of everyone attending > what should we prepare ahead of the meeting Add the information in the meeting request. It creates accountability but most importantly it gives meaning to the person to attend the meeting and to engage. They know the value they will bring. #TheGoodBusy

the best meetings I've held and been in stay on topic. So stick to a pre posted agenda and don't over run. Everyone's time is money.

There’s nothing worse than going to a team meeting where you’re just listening and you’re not allowed to participate; not only don’t you retain information but you also switch off quickly. It’s called a ‘team meeting’ for a reason. Also, team meetings need to be held in a comfortable environment - breakouts, ice breakers etc are great, but not when they’re forced .

If there were no actions, decisions, or takeaways was it really even a meeting? Capturing decisions and takeways and sharing them out is a great tool for keeping meeting attendance under control because these can be sent to more people than were just in the meeting. Often times people attend meetings just so they don't miss something important, but they didn't actually need to be physically present in the meeting. Sharing the takeaways with a broader group or project team can be really helpful for creating a transparent flow of information without everyone feeling like they have to be at every single meeting.

55% say it's hard to recap and understand the next steps after the meeting (Microsoft 2023 study). Summary helps to create clarity. > Did we achieve the outcome? > What's still missing? > What are the next steps and who is in charge? The summary is a great point of start of the next meeting. And a great reference to track the progress. If you're using another tool for project management. That's fine. You can reference it in the email. #TheGoodBusy

"Efficiency happens in teams, inefficiency also happens in teams..." We can choose to be part of the problem or part of the solutions. Meetings are here to stay. We have to work together. We just need to change the way we work. #TheGoodBusy

Being prepared is a key ingredient. Have pre-reading & expectations, review the pre-reading, have questions ready or answers available. Don't be afraid to cancel the meeting minutes before or at the beginning if not all participants are not ready to meet. Don't waste anyone's time.

Creating an open and friendly environment during team meetings enhances creativity and increases commitment to work. When team members feel safe to express ideas without fear of judgment, they contribute more innovative solutions and perspectives. This fosters open communication, boosts morale, and encourages collaborative discussions, leading to a stronger sense of belonging and dedication to team goals. Overall, such an environment cultivates a positive work culture, driving innovation and productivity.