Effective Leadership: How to Run Productive Staff Meetings
READ TIME - 5 MINUTES
We've all been in bad meetings, right?
I hate it when I attend meetings that could have been replaced with an email.
Having a meeting just to check a box never adds value.
"Let’s meet and figure out the agenda" is not how you move things forward.
I’ve been in many good and bad meetings, and I've run hundreds of my own.
In this newsletter, I will share four steps to help you run effective meetings so you and your team can move faster and stay aligned.
Step 1: Agree on the Frequency and Time, and Stick to It
The worst thing you can do is put a weekly meeting on the calendar and then cancel it after 2-4 weeks.
People won’t take you seriously even when you do have the meeting.
Whether you can attend or not, the meeting should happen.
There is always someone you can rely on to run the meeting for you.
Additionally, if the meeting runs over 30 or 60 minutes (MAX), it’s not productive. It becomes more of a social event than a productive meeting.
Step 2: Create a Meeting Routine So People Know What to Expect and Prepare For
There should be a protocol followed at each meeting so people know what they owe you and what to expect from you.
While ad hoc topics are valued occasionally, if they become the norm, people won’t get value from your meeting.
A big part of this protocol should be follow-up action items to remind folks of their responsibilities, especially those who couldn’t attend.
This isn't about note-taking; it's about action items.
Step 3: Staff Meetings Are NOT for Sharing To-Do Lists
We often mix our 1:1s with our staff meetings.
No one cares about others' to-do lists—let’s be honest. When we attend meetings, we need to know the headlines of what’s happening around us and, most importantly, what impacts us and our team.
Meetings should be less about individual tasks and more about critical updates that everyone needs to know.
The most successful staff meetings involve discussing matters important to everyone and, most importantly, making decisions as a group.
Step 4: Your Part as the Leader Shouldn’t Be More Than 20% of the Meeting
Your job as a leader is to share information your team doesn’t know about the organization—assuming you have insights they don’t.
Your team should discuss what they deem important for everyone to know and highlight roadblocks.
Employees respect the meeting when it’s productive and adds value to their day.
If the content only requires 10 minutes, don’t drag it out to 60 minutes. Give people time back. If more time is needed, it’s okay to ask people to stay, but it’s more appropriate to schedule a follow-up meeting to accommodate everyone.
A weekly staff meeting is important and adds value to you and your team if done right.
It should be a place where problems are resolved and decisions are made.
If anything else happens, the whole meeting should be replaced with an email or Slack message.
Meet to move forward, not to chat!
There’s always a lunch break for chats.