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Is it important for teams to hold regular meetings? Well, definitely yes! Meetings matter not just to make sure the job gets done. They also serve as a great means of communication among team members, who need to have a clear understanding of the activities and needs of the team. Meetings also allow for creative brainstorming and group innovation. It is also through team meetings that work skills are developed, interpersonal relationships are deepened, and team morale is boosted.

When team meetings are considered useless or nonproductive by its members, there will certainly be a negative impact on how workers perform in their respective jobs. Thus, it is of utmost importance that team meetings be planned well and conducted systematically and with purpose.

Making Team Meetings More Effective

Aside from the obvious points about being prepared, on time, and making sure everyone is involved, there are other things that can help make your next team meetings productive and effective. Here’s what you should do:

Have a Purpose

Why is the team having a meeting anyway? Is it because it’s a requirement? Or you have a specific reason for holding the meeting? Before you even plan a meeting, you’ve got to figure out what the purpose of the meeting is. You have to make it something that your members will look forward to, and not something they think is just a waste of their time.

Less Is Often More

Meeting your team several times a week can leave you holding meaningless team meetings. It is always better to have fewer but more meaningful meetings with your members. If certain issues arise, check if they can be addressed through one on one conversations or email messages perhaps. Meeting less frequently will increase the chances of your team meetings becoming more purposeful and useful.

The Meeting Agenda

The success of any team meeting pretty much depends on its agenda. It is important that your agenda be specific so that participants will know what to expect from the meeting. A vague agenda can cause members to be uninterested in the meeting. Be sure also that you distribute the agenda ahead of time to allow members to make the necessary preparations for it.

Acting As a Facilitator

There is a difference between facilitating a meeting and chairing a meeting. You’ve got to figure out what your role will be. Knowing how you should run the meeting will give you a clear idea of how you should start the meeting, how the meeting should run and how it’s supposed to end.

Ask for Feedback

There will always be a way your team meetings can improve. But you will never know how to improve it unless you ask your team members for feedback. It would be of great help to you if you could know what they think and how they feel about your team meetings.

Work with a Mentor

If you’re not used to holding meetings with a group of people, it is recommended that you work with a mentor. Perhaps your company offers executive coaching programs you could join. This will be a great opportunity for you to learn from the more experienced individuals in the organization.

If there’s one thing a hardworking manager still needs to do in order to get to the next level in his or her career, it will be to know how to turn management skills into leadership skills. Managers are the ones expected to make important decisions that will boost employee productivity, and thus, having great leadership skills is an absolute must.

What Sets a Leader Apart from the Rest?

In today’s business world, companies are opting to retain and offer promotions only to their managers who have outstanding management skills and demonstrate qualities of a good leader. The good thing is that while some people are born great leaders, leadership skills can be learned and developed, but only if you know where to put your efforts into.

The key to becoming an effective leader is to understand that leadership is all about bringing people together for the fulfillment of one goal. You, as a manager, not only have authority and power, but a great responsibility to lead your subordinates so they may contribute to the growth of your organization.

How Managers Can Become Great Leaders

Learn from customers and staff every single day.

Checking in on a regular basis leads to better communication. You don’t have to hold general meetings to do this. Short staff meetings scheduled regularly and implementing an open-door management policy can help you establish clear lines of communication with your staff. You would also learn a lot about how to improve your products or services by soliciting feedback from your clients or customers.

Listen before speaking.

It takes a lot of practice and determination to become a good listener. And when you become one, you will see how positive its effects are to your people. Employees appreciate managers who know how to listen to them. Customers can also see your sincerity in offering great service.

Learn from what other leaders did in the past.

Take time to know what your predecessors did in the past. You can apply what worked for them, and avoid those that didn’t. The past is always a good source of knowledge, especially for those managers who don’t have much experience yet.

Get staff involved in the decision-making.

It is always a good idea to get your people involved in the decision-making process, especially if the decision to be made relates to them. All you need to do is encourage them to be creative and to share their ideas. You may even give rewards to acknowledge their success.

Focus on the positive…always.

As a leader, your people look up to you and even get inspiration from you. Thus, you should always focus on the positive, so that they may do the same.

Climbing up the corporate ladder is every manager’s dream, but this can turn into reality if they learn what it takes not just to be a manager, but a true leader. Taking part on executive coaching programs is an important step if you’re looking to acquire and develop the skills that will make you an effective leader.