Is there such a thing as a good meeting? My own definition of a good meeting is one that accomplishes what it’s supposed to accomplish. To lead that kind of a meeting, be sure to incorporate the steps below in your planning process.
- Decide on the purpose of the meeting before you plan it. Is the purpose to inform? To decide? To discuss? What do you hope to walk away with from the meeting? Your purpose for the meeting informs your agenda.
- Plan the agenda ahead of time and give it to the people who will be there. This allows them to mentally prepare for what the meeting is and is not about.
- When you structure a meeting agenda with more than one item on it, always put the items in order of importance. By putting the most important items first, you ensure that you don’t run out of time to deal with those issues.
- When you write up the meeting agenda, put an estimate next to each item for how long you expect it to take. For example: “Brainstorming: 15 minutes. Strategy planning: 30 minutes. Assigning deadlines and action points: 5 minutes.”
- Allow time for relationally connection at the beginning of the meeting. Check in to see how people are, hear updates from team members, pray for one another.