A Team Leader, at any level, is responsible
for building a high performing Team. The main tool or process for the Team
Leader to build their Team is the Team Meeting. Unfortunately, in the real
world, meetings are not always interesting and productive affairs! Meetings can
be dull, repetitive, boring events, where it is far too easy for each
participant to switch off, to become disengaged, and to be totally uninvolved
with the whole process.
It's hardly surprising then, that when they
leave the meeting, Team Members are very quick to put it out of their heads.
They often retain no commitment to shared purpose or even to action points that
were agreed at the meeting. These are not bad people. It was just a really bad
meeting, and we could have predicted the outcome.
The Effective Team Meeting
A well planned and structured Team meeting
is, on the other hand, quite the reverse. The Team Members leave this meeting
with the feeling that something was achieved, that they were engaged in the
process and that they are motivated to achieve follow up actions. It is the
role of the Team Leader to ensure the meeting is successful, and that this good
outcome is achieved.
Used effectively, the Team Meeting is the
forum where the Team Leader -
Manages People
Manages the
throughput of work
Aligns the Team
to their Team purpose
Gains commitment
to Organisational and Team Goals
Co-ordinates effort
Celebrates
achievement and personal milestones
Binds the Team
together, building mutual respect
Develops the
Team & Team members
Motivates and energises the Team Members
Generates ideas
and innovations to improve performance and Teamwork
Delegates to sub-groups
or individual Team members
Manages projects
Builds a
positive team dynamic
Running effective meetings is essential to
the Leadership role.
The Basics What is a Meeting?
Let us take a fresh look this, what is a
meeting? A Meeting is a group of people who come together for a specific time
to achieve given objectives. This core definition is important. The objectives
of every meeting should be stated at the beginning of the meeting, as should
the length of time, and the desired outcome of this particular meeting.
The meeting generally has a chairperson, or
leader, who has the role of - 1.
Setting out the objectives 2.
Structuring the meeting -
providing a format for the meeting to achieve a good outcome. Many Leaders
assume the Team Meeting always has to be a round table, open discussion. This
very rarely works, and quickly becomes boring. The aim is to structure the
meeting to achieve the specific goals on the day. HOW we do that can, and
should, vary. 3.
Facilitating the Meeting. The
leader facilitates the meeting, guiding the people in the group, stimulating
individual contribution and the flow of interactions. The Leader ensures we
have a good outcome.
All of these aspects of the meeting
Leader's role involve planning and skills. They are competencies that we can
work at, and improve.
Planning is the Key
An effective Team Leader will take time to
plan and structure each Team Meeting. What are the goals of this particular
meeting? What is the desired outcome? The goals of each meeting need to be very
specific, as the method of achieving those goals will vary. The Team Leader
will also think about the method to achieve the outcome.
For example, the Team Leader might wish to
generate some new ideas, or problem solve issues that have arisen with the
Team's performance. Firstly, this type of brainstorming meeting cannot be mixed
with a general, managing the work throughput meeting. Keep it quite separate. The
Team Leader wants the Team energised and full of ideas. He or she will not sit
them round a table where the atmosphere will quickly become dead. They will get
rid of the table, or move the Team to another place where they can buzz off
each other.
Equally, how the Team Leader starts this
meeting, and facilitates it to keep the energy levels up, will be quite
different to another type of meeting.
A few minutes planning will help enormously
-
1.
What are the objectives today?
What is the desired outcome?
2.
What is the best way to achieve
this? What is a good format for this meeting?
3.
What is the best structure
beginning, middle, end?
The message here is simple. Meeting time is
precious make the most of every meeting!
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
