How To Run a Meeting That Actually Moves Things Forward

Everyone I know has endured a long, overdrawn, waste-of-time meeting at some point in their careers. One that doesn’t start on time, that meanders through topics, and that does nothing to move the dial. When I was a manager I observed many methods for running meetings that were successful and many that failed miserably. And once, I was called out in a meeting by my boss for not having anything meaningful to add. This was a wake-up call that made me realize the importance of preparing for meetings and also holding your team accountable for their presence in them. Like all leadership assets, running a productive meeting is a skill you can build.

A ton of articles have been written on the topic and experts from the NY Times, Harvard Business Review, Forbes and Slack all share tips and tricks for making a meeting work well. In the business section of the Times Adam Bryant shares some helpful insights and stresses these 3 points: set an agenda, start and end on time, and end with an action plan. HBR reminds us that meetings are important because they are “the essence of collective agreement, of collaboration and of building a successful team.” This is an essential point; we work in a hive, so it’s essential to create a place for all voices to be heard and create a space to table big decisions and changes.

During this unique time, it is more important than ever to run a solid meeting. People are working remotely and their schedules are hooked to back to back Zoom dates, so it’s essential our meetings effectively share information with the team so they - and you - can stay informed about each area of the operation. Here’s my outline for how to run an effective meeting, one that moves things forward and involves everyone on your team:

• Date & Time:

  • Set the meeting date and time so that you can hold it regularly every week.

  • Create a calendar invite for each week in the calendar year.

    • A standing meeting at a regular time and place adds a productive cadence to the pace of managing your operation.

• Meeting Leader:

  • The leader must keep the time and stick to the agenda, no exceptions.

  • As the boss, you will lead the first few meetings in this new format, then you will assign each member of the team a date where they will each be the leader for that meeting.

    • It’s good practice to have everyone take a turn at leading the meeting. This helps everyone understand how a meeting is run and creates accountability and mutual respect

• The Agenda:

  • Create and circulate an agenda 2 days prior to the meeting itself.

  • Any additions must be added prior to the meeting and anything off the agenda will not be discussed. It’s important to stay on topic, it’s too easy to get off track.

  • The agenda should include information from each department and should include the essential goal of the business (increase revenues/cut costs/innovate/achieve the mission).

• The Minutes:

  • The minutes serve as a record for the events, topics and agreements made during the meeting.

  • One person is assigned to take and circulate the meeting minutes:

    • It’s good practice to have everyone take a turn at recording and sharing the minutes.

    • If someone is particularly good at this, they can continue to be the note taker for each meeting with a back-up assigned.

  • Minutes are circulated after the meeting, the day of the meeting, and any adjustments/updates get added by participants.

    • Essentially if no one makes an adjustment then they cannot complain later that the minutes don’t properly reflect their voice or decisions.

  • All items that are discussed and all voices of those who participate are part of the meeting minutes. Note each person by their initials.

  • The minutes should show what items are:

    • Completed

    • In progress with goal finish date

    • Who is responsible for each item

• Format:

  • The leader starts on time and goes through every item on the agenda. The leader must be strict in the timing of each item and must cut people off if they are not staying on topic or contributing to the topic at hand.

  • The meeting follows the agenda and allows each department head time to present updates and progress of various initiatives.

    • If no update/progress, they forfeit their turn.

  • To create progress around agenda topics, the group agrees as to whom will be involved and then that person agrees when they will finish the project. Updates will be shared at the next meeting.

    • This public agreement is essential to increasing accountability within the team (this entire system is about accountability!) 

• Strict Adherence:

  • The agenda is adhered to 100%, no deviations.

  • Any topics that are brought up outside of the agenda points are:

    • Assigned to another meeting with specific participants, not all.

    • Added to the agenda for the following meeting.

• Tone:

  • Make sure the tone is proactive and positive. A good meeting will help get things accomplished, this is a great thing for your team and business!

Meetings are an important part of business operations but their success relies on people and procedures. Share your intentions for increasing the efficacy of your meeting structure and tell your teams that you are going to be more intentional going forward. Use the new-ish year as a starting point for improvement and make meetings a priority. LIttle by little you will build this as a skill and help your team members - all managers - add this skill to their repertoires too.