Meetings are a necessity of work life, and in the ideal world, they help to bring the team together, make them feel inspired, and create a sense of teamwork among the entire group. To accomplish this, you need to move past the typical, boring lecture-style meeting that leaves the presenter sounding a bit like the teacher in Charlie Brown. Without something to focus on or to excite their senses, team members are likely to miss out on a great deal of the information being presented to them.
If you’re ready to start getting more out of your meetings, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and revamp the meeting structure. Here are three meeting ideas that will keep your team interested, engaged, and responsive:
The itinerary you meticulously type up for the next meeting? Toss it aside and let your team members take the lead. Propose a subject for the meeting – which can be anything from an overview of the project timeline, to the implementation of a new procedure – and then place it in the team’s hands.
Team members are then allowed to ask you anything on the subject, no matter how simple or complex the question, and you are to answer it thoroughly and honestly. This signals to the team that their questions are important, and it keeps them engaged and inspired to ask further questions without your prompting. With this method, team members gain the insights they need to succeed in their roles.
Sometimes, someone outside of the company is the best person for delivering a message and providing inspiration. Instead of the typical meeting format, invite everyone in to listen to a podcast or watch a TED Talk on a subject that’s relevant to what’s happening in the organization at the time. It might be that the team needs some inspiration to work together more cohesively, or maybe there’s a new technology on the horizon that would be of interest to them. Keep the meeting low-key, add in some snacks, and then engage everyone in a dialogue about what they took from the meeting.
This type of meeting structure works best when you have several topics on your list that need attention. Rather than going down the list one by one, you set up “stations” where each topic or issue will be addressed. Team members sit at the table that most interests them to discuss the issues and work on problem-solving. Team members are free to come and go to the tables as they please. Some will want to zero in on one area where they feel their expertise best fits the needs of the company, while others will choose to have a wider, “world” view perspective to gain insights from.
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