5 Ways To Energise Your Staff Meetings

Tuesday 11 January, 2011

(Author Credits)

Do employees look forward to your staff meetings? Or would they rather watch paint dry ... Staff meetings are vital for communication and coordination. Yet 79% of leaders consider them a waste of time. Here are a few ideas to juice up your staff meetings and make them meaningful and productive.

1. Start By Checking In
   
   Invite each person to share one peak experience and one challenge they are facing. Avoid problem solving. Go round the room until everyone has shared.
   
   Why? - Updates and status reports are boring. This simple check-in process paves the way for open communication, greater sharing and trust in your meeting.
   
2. Encourage Peer Coaching
   
   As the leader, you go first. Say, ‘I'd like your help with this challenge. What are your ideas for how I can tackle this situation?' Listen and take notes on the suggestions. Share actions you plan to take and thank the group for their help. Allocate 10 - 20 minutes for this activity each meeting and encourage everyone to take a turn.
   
   Why? - Team members face the same  types of challenges. Peer coaching builds teamwork, shared learning and fresh solutions.
   
3. Invite ‘Dumb' Questions
   
   Ask everyone to write down 3 questions they have about direction, roles, views and opinions and next steps. Put the questions in a box and answer them.
   
   Why? - Individuals don't like to ask dumb questions. Writing down the questions anonymously gives employees time to think about what they want to know and validate their assumptions.
   
4. Tackle A Shared Challenge
   
   Identify a common problem affecting everyone and tackle this issue as a team. Encourage brainstorming and creative new solutions. Make sure everyone has skin in the game and contributes to ideas and solutions.
   
   Why? - Group problem solving builds unity and leverages everyone's collective talents to solve the problem. This type of activity builds team confidence and problem solving ability.
   
5. Share Your Goals
   
   Before the staff meeting is over, invite each person to share one goal they want to achieve in the upcoming week.
   
   Why? Sharing goals is a sure-fire way to cement the goal and make it a priority. Team members become aware of each other's priorities and help each other reach their goals.

Don't tolerate dull staff meetings!

Put one of two of these ideas into action and make your staff meetings more vibrant and engaging.

Source:ceoonline.com