Staff Meetings

As a leader, are all your meetings purposeful?  If not, why do you have them?

Recurring meetings are a drag. These regular updates exist for a reason, but they are often boring and even unproductive. Here are three ways you can freshen up your staff meetings:

• Review the meeting's purpose. People may show up just because it's on their calendar. Remind them why the meeting exists and ask if it still serves a purpose.
• Solicit agenda items in advance. Give attendees the chance to bring up issues that are of interest to them.
• Cancel if there is no reason to meet. No agenda items? Cancel. People will respect that you aren't wasting their time and will show up engaged when there is work to be done and value in meeting.

Adapted from Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter by Ron Ashkenas, Martha Craumer, Anthony K. Tjan, Gina Trapani, David Silverman, Jane Heifetz, June Delano, Jodi Glickman, Melissa Raffoni