Most teams meet up on a weekly basis, but few team leaders structure their meetings in a way which gets the most out of their time.
Most teams meet up on a weekly basis to discuss where current projects are at and any issues which may have arisen over the course of the week. Meetings that don't follow a structure usually descend into chaos, so team leaders ought to go into any meetings with a set agenda prior to the meeting. With an agenda you ensure you get the most from the time, the session doesn't overrun and everyone feels they've been included.
You should always start a meeting by setting a timer – we'll come back to this. Next, outline what you want to get from the meeting, then introduce a round table discussion so people can set out their priorities for the coming week and any problems they've encountered. This gives people a chance to liaise with colleagues working on the same project, so everyone is pulling in the same direction.
If there are issues raised, note them down as people are talking and start to decide which are the most pressing. Once you have your list and everyone has spoken, set out to the group which tasks you want them to prioritise. If you briefly discuss each in turn, you can collectively work out a plan of action.
Stop your timer when there's about 10% of the meeting time left. Use this time to review the items you've actioned and ensure everyone is clear on what they have to put top of their agenda for the coming week. Using these final few minutes to reiterate how you're moving forward means there's more chance of things getting done, and done in the right order.
Set a timer
Outline the purpose of the meeting
Have a round table to talk about any issues
Prioritise those issues and feed back to the team
Stop the timer and reiterate team priorities
