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How to run effective team meetings by Dan White
By Guest Contributor Dan White
Author of The Soft Skills Book, Dan White explains how to run effective team meetings.
Teams of more than ten to 20 people sometimes struggle to feel like a true, cohesive unit, especially if some members rarely work with each other. Having an all-team meeting that lasts about an hour every month or so can help create a sense of team unity.
A well-planned and efficiently run team meeting can:
- Remind everyone to stay focused on the team’s objectives
- Build team spirit and motivation
- Encourage collaborative work
- Address challenges requiring multiple perspectives
Effective team meetings typically include:
PROGRESS UPDATES
Each meeting should include a summary of the team’s progress against objectives. This reminds everyone what the objectives are and encourages the team to stay focused on them. The progress update is also an opportunity to explain any implications of over- or under-performance, and any shifts in focus required during the remainder of the year.
FUN
It’s worth setting aside ten minutes or so for an exercise unrelated to work that involves team members cooperating with one another. These short sessions can be highly entertaining and help people get to know each other. Look online for icebreakers or team building activities and choose whichever suit your organization’s style, work well in a remote meeting if necessary and will take the amount of time you want to devote to this activity.
DISCUSSION
This segment is an opportunity for everyone to talk about a topic that’s affecting, or could affect, the whole team’s performance. The topic would ideally be relevant to the whole team and benefits from that fact that everyone is present to make a contribution. To help make these sessions constructive and inspiring, they should be positioned as opportunities to generate ideas and problem-solve rather than restating known difficulties.
CELEBRATION
Team meetings are a good opportunity for the team leader to thank everyone for their efforts and congratulate the group or individuals for recent accomplishments. Some teams also encourage members to give recognition to colleagues who’ve gone above and beyond in some way. Schemes of this sort can be themed around the team’s values (if they’ve been identified), so that the organizational culture is reinforced at every meeting.
The graphic below captures a tried and trusted success formula for team meetings that you might find useful. To foster a sense of shared responsibility and collaboration, different combinations of members can be invited to run each team meeting, with introductory and closing words delivered by the team leader.
Team meetings are key to building team spirit and a sense of collaboration, so they’re particularly important for teams working remotely that sometimes struggle in this area.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAN WHITE is a marketing and insights innovator. His frameworks and visualizations have influenced generations of marketers via the methodologies they have informed, including the world’s leading brand measurement, media evaluation and copy-testing systems. This unique blend of expertise ensures that every piece of advice offered in The Smart Marketing Book and The Soft Skills Book is based on robust evidence and a wealth of practical experience.
Website: https://www.smartmarketing.me/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danwhite1000
Suggested Reading
In this practical and savvy guide, Dan White describes the soft skills that anyone in today’s world of work needs to learn, absorb, and demonstrate if they are to progress in their career. Uniquely illustrated and presented, the author explains each soft skill clearly, why it is relevant and important, and how to apply that skill to your working life. In short, the book provides the missing link to ensuring your job and career is successful and fulfilling.
In today’s complex commercial environments, marketing has become a central aspect to every successful business. Businesses need flexible, effective means of gaining commercial traction by managing their relationships with audiences, stakeholders and competitors. They require effective marketing and branding that move beyond the standard forms of brand orientation and commercial interaction. New marketing models must think smart to create innovative strategies which have long-term sustainable economic goals.
The Smart Marketing Book is a practical, reliable and concise title that offers the core marketing principles – applicable for anyone who wishes to improve their organization’s financial and creative values. It is a straightforward guide that avoids unnecessary and time-consuming practices. An illustrative handbook that covers marketing principles and topics through visual innovation. A credible statement to all marketers trying to source the most relevant strategies from a field cursed with infinite information.