Getting to the heart of your weekly meeting.

We've all been in those Weekly Leadership Meetings that meander, never seeming to get to the point of the matter. At worst, we revisit the same topics weekly, and nothing changes. Typically, we can remedy this with two simple questions:

1. As you start a new item on the agenda, ask this question. "On this item, is the intent to inform, define or solve?"
2. If the answer is to inform, great. Inform away! If it's to define or solve, ask, "have we defined the heart of the issue?"

On another note, I see many teams try to solve meaty issues in a single meeting. This isn't advisable. Once you define an issue, gauge if the meeting has the right people in attendance to solve for the solution. Better yet, define the importance and urgency of the issue, and move accordingly. Table the non-urgent items to the Monthly Meeting. On the urgent items, delegate ownership and accountability to a member of the meeting, and expect them to provide follow-up by the next meeting.?

There is zero magic to a great meeting. It's a matter of keeping clear and engaged while the team is together. The goal is to give each issue the clarity, definition, and actionable steps required by using the "Goldilocks" amount of attention from the leadership team. Not more, not less.?