No more useless meetings: five tips on leading them effectively

Team meetings are a bit like visits to the dentist: nobody likes them very much and people only attend because they have to. The reason is clear: meetings are often poorly run and have little informational value or relevance to the participants. Therefore today's article offers five tips on how to run meetings effectively.

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Decide if everyone really needs to be present

Is it really necessary for all those who attend regularly to be at the meeting? If possible, keep the number of participants to a minimum. Even when it comes to recurring meetings, you can change the list of participants for each individual occasion so that the sessions are as relevant as possible to everyone.

Send the agenda in advance

Give subordinates an opportunity to prepare for the meeting. Do this by sending the agenda and the topics to be discussed in advance. As Entrepreneur.com states, this way participants will arrive prepared and the meeting will be much more effective.

If appropriate, invite people who make decisions on the issues being discussed

If it makes sense in a given situation, you can invite decision makers or experts on the issues under discussion to the meeting. For example, if you are discussing new ways to invoice products, invite someone from the accounting department who can answer questions on the spot and help resolve issues directly at the meeting.

Always write down follow-up tasks

Every meeting should keep a record of what subsequently needs to be done. For each task, the person responsible as well as the deadline should be listed. These minutes should then be sent to all participants.

Remember to finish on time

A common problem with meetings is that they rarely finish on time. This often leaves workers feeling justifiably frustrated because they cannot plan their working day well or they then fail to keep up with their work. So always stick to the time you have reserved for the meeting.

 

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Article source Entrepreneur.com - website of a leading U.S. magazine for entrepreneurs
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