Lead Awesome Meetings

We all want to lead effective meetings. More specifically, we want to make meetings more productive so everyone involved walks away with:

1. A deeper understanding of what the issues and priorities are,
2. Who is accountable for specific tasks to implement solutions,
3. Clarity to make decisions and take action,
4. An energy boost to keep moving forward.

To help you and your team get a better return on your time investment, here are my six fundamental principles for leading an effective meeting:

Start With Why

If you’re going to meet, clarify the purpose first then only invite the people essential to getting the outcomes you need.

Set An Agenda

Set a time-specific agenda with no more than 3 core outcomes you want to get out of the meeting. Clarify who is attending, what you’re talking about and what you expect from each participant. Be even more specific about any information you need your participants to prepare and bring to the meeting in advance. I recommend sharpening the focus of each meeting so you can accomplish what you want within 30 minutes.

Show Up Prepared

In order for your meeting to feel useful and productive, you’ve got to have the information you need to make decisions and take action. Make it clear in advance, everyone must show up prepared or the meeting will have to be rescheduled. Send out the list of what each person is accountable to bring and email a reminder 48 hours in advance.

Stay On Task

Keep the meeting focused on the core outcomes. If ‘other’ issues come up during the course of your meeting make note of it briefly and insist on dealing with it via email, a phone conference or agree to set up another meeting if necessary.

Create Your Action List

Clarify and assign specific tasks to implement the solutions you’ve created or action you’ve decided to take.

Re-Cap Next Steps

Complete your meeting with a re-cap of what’s been decided upon and send everyone a copy of the action plan. Before you wrap up clarify how each person will stay accountable to the action plan so the important work gets done.

By mastering these fundamentals you can transform energy-draining meetings into energy-boosting collaborations focused on action and results, which will feel a lot more motivational for you and your team.

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