Leadership team meetings
that actually move the needle
A pattern of unproductive meetings breeds a “here we go again” dread. …
The good news is that perceptions can change quickly if your meetings deliver value.
By Kimberly Paterson, CEC
Regular leadership team meetings are the norm in most organizations—often more out of habit than necessity. Enthusiasm for the process is tepid at best. Ask a leader to quantify what comes out of the meeting and you’ll hear things such as “it furthers communications” and “keeps projects on track.” Talk to participants and they’ll tell you that most of what’s covered could be handled in an email.
Leadership team meetings frequently disappoint and are seldom worth the time invested. That’s because they’re designed as procedural rather than tools to drive results.
Reinvigorating your meetings
A pattern of unproductive meetings breeds a “here we go again” dread. Impatience and stress levels spike as people worry about the work piling up on their desks. The good news is that perceptions can change quickly if your meetings deliver value by clearing real obstacles, motivating your team and demonstrating tangible progress. Consider these eight best practices:
- Set a different expectation. Most team meetings fall short of expectations because they lack a clear objective. There are lots of conversations but no clear outcomes. Having an agenda is a start, but it’s not enough. Agendas are typically just lists of topics. The typical meeting ends up being a firefighting session on the latest crisis and taking turns providing updates that make work sound complete and under control. The structure makes it awkward for managers to admit there are obstacles that need attention.
Instead of listing topics, focus on the outcomes you’re seeking from the meeting. Be crystal clear about what you expect from attendees. Are you looking for input, information, decisions or solutions? What do attendees need to do to prepare? Some employees think fast on their feet, but others need time to process before they can contribute. Giving material in advance will support team effectiveness. Here is a sample agenda:
Meeting Goals:
- Outcome: Identify and address team objectives and key results (OKRs) that are off-track—Timeframe: 20 minutes
o Role: Problem solve
o Prep: Review Team OKR status document in “shared”
- Outcome: Develop two or three strategies for improving the quality and timeliness of policy renewal reports—Timeframe: 30 minutes
o Role: Make decision and agree on next step for implementation
o Prep: Review attached reports and come with recommendations
- Outcome: Choose top three candidates for an HR position—Timeframe: 15 minutes
o Role: Provide input, CEO will make final decision
o Prep: Review attached résumés and feed back from interviews
- Prepare. Effective leadership meetings sharpen focus on what’s most important, align the team, and generate forward momentum. That doesn’t just happen. It takes planning on the leader’s part. The leader needs to know what problems need to be solved and what may be holding the organization back. Preparing in advance helps ensure that the right topics get discussed, and that the people who need to weigh in or provide additional information are in the room.
Leaders need to own this meeting and resist delegating the responsibility to other team members. That doesn’t mean leaders shouldn’t seek input on topics or invite others to lead portions of the meeting. It means the leader is ultimately responsible for shaping the agenda and ensuring outcomes are achieved.
- Leverage time together. Use your meeting for work that you can accomplish only when the team is together. You don’t need to gather leadership to listen to each person’s detailed status reports, but you do need the collective team to share perspectives, make complex decisions, align on issues, ensure accountability, assess progress, and troubleshoot when plans are in jeopardy.
- Define how the team works together. Agreeing on ground rules for how the group operates sets clear expectations and standards of behavior. For example, your ground rules might include points that range from tactical, “We start and end the meeting on time and don’t wait for people who are late or repeat what’s been discussed for their benefit,” to strategic, “We hold each other accountable for organizational goals and the individual commitments we make.”
Some teams use norms to reinforce new behaviors they are working on. For example, if team members find it difficult to be candid with colleagues, they might include a team norm such as, “We say what needs to be said, directly, constructively, and kindly.” Most teams set norms on the use of technology during meetings to avoid distractions and multi-tasking.
- Maximize participation. One of the top complaints about team meetings is that one or two people dominate the conversation. Those who are reluctant to speak remain silent and often tune out of the discussion. Draw out each attendee and consistently ask for other perspectives and dissenting opinions.
- Surface the right issues. Keep the group focused on the issues that count. It is easy for triviality to dominate a discussion. Conversations naturally gravitate toward trivial, low-risk, opinion-based topics.
Let’s say the team is in a heated conversation about the organization’s website. Instead of focusing on cosmetic details like the homepage’s photos and colors, focus on the strategic issue like the organization’s uncompelling value proposition.
The leader is the compass that keeps the group heading in the right direction and ensures that important issues aren’t avoided just because they are difficult or potentially controversial. It’s critical to create space in your meetings to surface problems.
“Where are we stuck?” can be a useful question when dealing with challenges that feel unsolvable, systemic issues, stalemates between department heads, or a leader who is behind on a project. Make it a practice to talk about obstacles. It normalizes that every leader faces challenges, encourages honesty, and sends a signal that it’s smart to ask for help and to engage the power of the team.
- Manage conflict. Some leaders are uncomfortable with conflict. When people express forceful opinions and strong feelings, it feels too confrontational. Instead of addressing issues head-on, they instinctively try to lower the tension level to maintain harmony. The reality is, suppressing conflict has the opposite effect. It blocks cooperation and alignment around common goals. Over time, tension, negative emotions, and polarization build up. Small issues turn into big ones. Interpersonal relationships and the ability to get work done suffer. A “conspiracy of silence” where uncomfortable topics are avoided becomes the norm. Team members may feel it is risky to disagree with leaders, leading to a lack of honest debate and “lukewarm” insights.
Productive conflict is necessary if people are going to openly express their views, tackle tough problems, and pursue the best possible solutions. Effective leaders surface conflict, but they don’t let it spiral out of control. They create a safe space to disagree by establishing and enforcing clear ground rules that keep the conversation civil and respectful.
- Close the loop. The single biggest complaint we hear about team meetings is that teams talk about things but never reach a conclusion. This pattern is what makes so many meetings feel like a waste of time. The remedy is to conclude every meeting with the question “Now what?” Be specific about what the team is committing to, who will do what, and by when. Track these commitments to ensure accountability.
Facilitation is critical
Facilitation is the “invisible glue” of productive leadership team meetings. Unless you have the luxury of professional facilitation, the role will fall to the CEO. As the facilitator, you’ll have three critical responsibilities: managing the conversation, managing the team dynamic and managing the clock.
Managing the conversation means keeping the team on task with the agenda, driving to the outcomes you’ve set, and ensuring that what needs to be said gets said. Active listening is one of your most important tools. That requires going beyond what’s said and tuning into attendees’ underlying concerns, frustrations and motivations. For many leaders, that necessitates talking less and listening more.
Handling the team dynamic is probably the toughest part of the job. Start by managing yourself. Be as neutral as you can. Avoid judging what people share. Judging tends to shut down input and increases the odds that only the boldest employees will speak. You’ll limit the input you receive and the level of engagement.
As the power person in the room, pay close attention to your body language and comments. Most people will be reading your signals and filtering what they say, based on your reactions. Be cautious using positive comments like “good idea” or “great idea.” Persons who are told that they had a good idea might be disappointed that their idea wasn’t considered great. When you comment on some questions or ideas and not others, people worry that you didn’t like what they said.
Your team’s time is precious, so manage it respectfully. Start and end on time. Keep meetings as short as possible and be realistic about what can be accomplished in the scheduled time. Most teams pack too much into their agenda and run overtime or fail to get to all of the topics.
Making the shift to a team meeting that builds momentum and achieves results isn’t difficult. It’s a change that you can make quickly and at no cost. All it takes is planning, awareness of participants’ frustrations and a willingness to test a different model for your meetings. For a free tip sheet on effective meetings, email kpaterson@cim-co.com.
The author
Kimberly Paterson, Certified Executive Coach and Master Energy Leadership Coach, is president of CIM (www.cim-co.com). CIM works with organizations and individuals to maximize performance through positive lasting behavioral change. Her clients are property and casualty insurance companies, agencies and brokers. She can be reached at kpaterson@cim-co.com. Follow Kimberly on www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-paterson.
