By JC Abusaid, CEO/President as Featured in Forbes
Who doesn’t have a love/hate relationship with meetings? Our companies can’t prosper without them, and still, frustrations over long-winded, unproductive meetings remain the default for many managers and employees.
As leaders, it’s our charge to structure and lead meetings that build camaraderie and are inclusive, efficient and useful. Research on job satisfaction and meeting management confirms that relevance and respect for employees’ time in meetings are effective in boosting employee engagement and retention. Management meetings involve a higher level of decision-making; when the timing and focus are well-orchestrated, the benefits can be profound.
Another reason to embrace company meetings is that they’re an absolute asset for culture and growth. What follows are practices that work well for me in keeping meetings dynamic and productive.
Starting With The Positives
Whatever you set out to accomplish in a meeting, why not begin with what’s going well? Research-based findings underscore the effectiveness of positive leadership in keeping employees engaged.
For me, leaning positive is integral to the culture my company values. This means seeking out opportunities to acknowledge the wins happening with people and initiatives. Whether minor accomplishments or heroic contributions, celebrate them. Then, your meeting can take on current challenges and frictions—the tasks and the kitchen fires. The positive environment you encourage will support concerted problem-solving.
Consistently updating team members on goals, events, conferences and projects is also a healthy part of a routine meeting agenda.
Management Team Meeting Frequency
For larger organizations, two types of management meetings are typical. Long-range planning and goal-setting that involve input from managers across the firm tend to take up a relatively fixed, strategic agenda. Then there are the meetings held by high-level executives or the senior leadership team. Frequently less structured, topics discussed can range from emergent to ongoing.
In both cases, how frequently you meet depends on your organization.
