The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has been reflecting on team meetings, and they make an interesting point - that teams by and large reflect their management. So your ability to get your team to interact effectively in team meetings may say a lot about your general effectiveness as a manager. Here are some essentials for making team meetings really work.
!. Know why you’re meeting.
Many agencies have a set meeting time. At 9am on Monday, the team gathers for their weekly pow-wow. Does anyone remember why? In some agencies, it’s a custom that pre-dates email and still revolves around passing on information that could perfectly well be sent electronically.
So have a hard think about what results you want from the meeting, and if the only thing you can think of is that you want everyone to be informed, think about replacing the meeting with an email and doing something more productive with the team meeting.
2. Be prepared to lead
If the team need motivating, or has suffered a setback, you need to highlight positive achievements, and get them looking to the future to change the mood. This is also the chance to make the team goals clear, and work with the team on ways they can support each other, and collaborate more effectively.
The leader makes sure that no one is left behind, and in the team meeting, it’s important to draw in people who are naturally quiet, or shy. This gives the message to everyone that the whole team is important, not just the most extrovert individuals.
3. Make sure people are tasked
Some team meetings go by with friendly general discussions about what needs doing - but no one is assigned to actually do it. Don’t be afraid to say, “And who’s going to do that?” and then make a note of the name. In fact, it can be a good idea to go in with a tracker, and devote part of the team meeting to catching up with progress towards goals. This emphasises that the whole team is involved, not just individuals.
4. Notice conflict but deal with it elsewhere
The team meeting is a great opportunity for the manager to quietly take note of any simmering conflicts, so observation is a key skill. Notice tone of voice, dismissive comments, and people’s body language. This can give you vital information about conflict in the team, that you can work on outside of the meeting.
5. Get the team to train each other
If someone has been away on a course, get them to do a presentation during the team meeting, to pass on their knowledge. Alternatively, if each team member has a different job role, which in a small agency, they may do, get each person to spend fifteen minutes telling everyone else what they do. This helps the team to better understand one another’s role.
Follow these tips, and your team should be looking forward to meetings rather than dreading them. Oh, and by the way, it’s always your turn to bring the biscuits.
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