Five Disciplines for Leading Better Meetings

Meetings are a key part of running any business, especially if you have a large team to manage, or multiple teams that need to collaborate. Without meetings, it’s hard to share ideas and get everyone on the same page. But, a lot of meetings are seen as being unproductive and time consuming. Think about it, everyone has left a meeting feeling like it was a waste of time. Luckily, by adopting a set of disciplines and techniques, you can transform your meetings into powerful collaborations that drive progress and collaboration.

How to Lead Better Meetings in 5 Steps

It’s not enough to turn up to a meeting and ‘wing’ it, especially if you are leading everything. Not only is this likely to lead to disorganisation and a lack of productivity, it could make meetings something that your team comes to dread. There’s a lot that goes into leading a successful meeting and here are five disciplines that can help:

Define Your Goals, Expectations and Purpose – Before you start a meeting, take the time to define your role and expectations, and determine the main purpose of the meeting. If you are leading the meeting, having expectations for the other people in attendance can help to ensure that everyone is involved as much as possible. Preparing before can save a lot of time, enabling you to maximise every minute of the meeting. Otherwise, you could spend a large portion of the meeting trying to get everyone on the same page.
Make Sure Your Team Trust Each Other – Great teams are built on trust, and great teams can solve any problem that comes their way. As a leader, you have the unique ability to build trust through the way that you approach meetings. By admitting mistakes, taking responsibility and creating an environment where employees feel safe to take risks, you can build trust and create a strong, resilient team. Leading good meetings doesn’t just mean being organised and efficient, it also means helping your team to collaborate effectively to achieve their shared goals.
Don’t Be Afraid to Enlist Expert Help – Enlisting the help of a leadership coach is a great way to improve your meeting leadership skills. Experts can provide specialised guidance that can help you to make the most of your strengths and overcome your weaknesses, which will lead to more effective and productive meetings. By using the expertise of an expert, you can develop a set of skills that boosts your ability to lead productive, engaging and successful meetings.
Align Your Meeting with the Business’ Values – It’s important that your meeting aligns with the core values of the business, and your actions, attitudes and aims need to be in line with what the business is doing as a whole. Every meeting should be conducted with the aim of benefiting the entire business, even if it’s only a quick meeting about a minor team project. Regardless of the topic or purpose, conduct your meeting in a way that’s conducive of overall business success.
Don’t Shy Away From Difficult Situations – Addressing uncomfortable issues is a key part of effective leadership. When you trust your team, they find it easier to have the courage to discuss difficult topics. By confronting difficult situations directly and encouraging everyone to work together to find a solution, you can resolve issues more efficiently and prevent them from escalating. This is especially important in meetings, where open communication and problem solving are essential for meeting success.

Why Leading Better Meetings Matters

Meetings are a key part of business life, but they tend to get a bad rap. Everyone has been in a meeting that feels like a waste of time, where very little is achieved and the entire experience feels unproductive. But, this doesn’t have to be the case. With the right leader, meetings can be a key part of business success.

Meetings Can Boost Productivity – Leading good meetings can save time and keep your team productive. By setting clear agendas, and sticking to them, you can avoid unnecessary detours and keep the meeting focused. This approach minimises wasted time and allows your team to return to their tasks as quickly as possible, maintaining overall productivity.

Meetings Can Improve Communication – A well-structured meeting can enhance communication. It makes sure that everyone is on the same page, helping to align everyone’s goals and strategies. Meetings that are led well provide an opportunity for team members to share updates, raise concerns and find solutions together. This open communication creates a collaborative working environment where ideas can be freely exchanged and perfected.

Meetings Can Help the Decision Making Process – Meetings are often where important decisions are made. By leading a meeting effectively, you can ensure that all necessary information is presented clearly and all relevant voices are heard. This approach to team discussions helps you to make informed decisions quickly and accurately, reducing the time that’s often wasted, which often happens when a team tries to make a decision by emailing back and forth.

Meetings Can Build Team Morale – Well led and organised meetings show your team that you respect their time and input. When meetings are run efficiently, attendees feel that their input is valued, which encourages them to contribute in the future. This boosts morale and engagement, as your team is more likely to feel motivated and appreciated in the workplace.

Meetings Can Drive Innovation – Often, meetings are where ideas, solutions and brainstorming happens, all of which can drive innovation. When led effectively, meetings can encourage employees to think creatively and share new ideas. To be a good leader, encourage this innovation by creating an open and inclusive meeting environment where all ideas are considered and explored.

Top Tips for Leading a Productive Meeting

Leading productive meetings is an essential skill for any business leader. However, doing so requires careful planning and execution. Here are some of our top tips:

Start and End on Time – You might be the leader, but you still need to respect everyone’s time. Start your meeting promptly and stick to the scheduled end time. This shows you value everyone’s time and it encourages punctuality and efficiency. If you are starting on time, people will make the effort to arrive on time. It’s likely that people have other meetings to get to and tasks to complete, and a delayed meeting can have a knock on effect.

Stay on Topic – Once a meeting is in full swing and ideas are being shared, it’s easy to get off topic. Keep discussions aligned with your proposed agenda and continually bring the group back to the main topic. If new issues arise, note them for future meetings, rather than letting them change the current discussion. This helps to maintain focus and ensures all important items are covered, whilst also making sure that other important matters are remembered for a later date. Otherwise, you could end the meeting, only to find that key points still need to be discussed.

Engage Attendees – Encourage your team to get involved in the meeting by creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable contributing. You could ask open-ended questions or ask for feedback, or you could focus your attention on quieter members of the team to give them the chance to share their thoughts. Let attendees know that it’s okay to take a risk and get a question wrong, as long as they are contributing and sharing ideas.

Ask for Feedback – It’s a good idea to regularly ask for feedback on your meetings, and then use this information to find ways to improve. Ask attendees what worked well and what could be better, and encourage them to be honest. Use this information to refine your meeting processes, putting small changes into action and evaluate their impact on productivity.

Follow Up – After the meeting, follow up with your team to maintain momentum. If you don’t, a lot of what was discussed could be forgotten about. Following up should involve sharing the meeting minutes, tracking the progress of tasks that you have assigned and preparing for the next meeting by reviewing what was accomplished.

As you can see, effectively leading meetings is a key part of business success. A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that meetings are a somewhat ‘pointless’ task, that nothing’s going to be achieved, and time is going to be wasted. But, with the knowledge of how to lead better meetings, this doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, leading better meetings is a key part of business growth and success. To find out more about what goes into growing a business, get in touch with our knowledgeable team.