Keys to Effective Team Meetings

How efficient and effective are your team meetings?

Do they yield great results?

Do your team members feel super excited after a review meeting or reach for the door as fast as they can?

Having great results starts with great leadership and then, a great team.

1. Tone from the Top: For every team, there must be a leader. Imagine a football team without a coach – how would that play out on the field? Every team needs some guidance and direction on what the vision is. An inspiring leader can help his/her team create this picture in their minds, while also enabling and empowering the vision.

Everything starts and falls with leadership – John C Maxwell

2. Individual goals vs. team goals: Many times, the feud in the team stems from conflicts of interest. As members of the team align their individual goals with that of the team, there is a better outcome. Are there clear objectives? Is this communicated to everyone from the start? What are the principles of engagement? Is everyone on the team aware and committed to cooperating together? Interdependency and mutual trust are fundamental to effective teams.

3. Who makes the call?: I have worked in teams, where for hours, we struggled with decision making. Limit the bureaucracy by designing and communicating an appropriate decision making matrix and delegation process, in the spirit of shared leadership. Things should go on even if the leader is not around. Does everything revolve around you or one particular member of the team? Do you have certain meeting principles that guard desired behaviours and prompt decision making?

4. Maximize the team strengths: Acknowledge the fact that everyone either has something to bring to the table or not. It’s always great if, as a leader, you get the chance to pick your team, but what do you do when you have your team already selected – diverse backgrounds, needs, individual profiles etc.? Sometimes, the critics in the team help you re-evaluate your decisions, the positive thinkers can inspire the team to move beyond limitations, the outspoken could help open doors the team is too timid to knock on, while the cautious may just help you avoid that uncalculated risk. Do a strengths assessment of your team and you might find some shocking qualities you didn’t know about and can leverage.

5. Don’t over sugar-coat feedback: Simply put, have authentic conversations. If you notice strange behaviors which are not in line with the team principles, nip them in the bud as quickly as possible, even if it comes from the so-called “special top talent”. Not doing this passes the wrong message to the team and can breed conflict. Feedback should be given promptly and assertively too. Address the specific issue (not attacking the person) and check for understanding / feedback.

Now it’s your turn. What would you add? I’d love to hear your views.

Be unstoppable,

Mofoluwaso Ilevbare (Forbes HR Council. Author. Speaker)