Imagine you find yourself in a meeting of twenty people and you’re trying to decide on something that you need to move forward with quickly. Before you know it, you’ve taken four rabbit trails and heard a lot of differing opinions, but with your meeting time quickly expiring, you’re no closer to a decision. You leave the meeting feeling defeated and that your only choice is to schedule yet another meeting to keep discussing whatever it is that needs to be decided.
Chances are, this isn’t a story you’re unfamiliar with—it’s one many meeting leaders have often experienced! So how do we move toward meetings that feel purposeful and productive for everyone in the room?
Below are a few tips, although not exhaustive, on how to lead an effective meeting. These tips will help your meetings move you and your team forward—whether you’re leading in women’s ministry, another area of the church, or in the corporate world.
1. Determine the type of meeting you’re having.
Before you put your meeting on the calendar, consider what type of conversation you need to have.
- Do you need to brainstorm and ideate with others?
- Do you need to offer feedback or navigate a hard conversation?
- Do you need to celebrate with your team?
- Do you need to make a decision on something?
These are just a few examples of types of conversations you may need to have in a meeting. Knowing what type of conversation you’re having from the beginning can help you set the right expectations, invite the right people, and more. Also, at this stage consider if you truly need a meeting or if you just need to send an email!
2. Invite the right people to your meeting.
OK, this can be a tough one! While we want to avoid excluding people and keep everyone in the loop, I’d challenge you to think about the right people who match the type of conversation you want to have. For example, you might need to invite a different and wider set of people to your brainstorming meeting than you need to invite to a meeting that decides which idea you’re moving forward with. Think about which people need to be involved at different stages of the conversations and know that it’s OK for that to shift as you move through dreaming, planning, and executing.
3. Be intentional with your calendar invitation.
I like to think about a calendar invitation as a way to care for the people you plan to meet with. It may sound simple, but having a specific title and description can go a long way to help your meeting attendees know what to expect and know how to engage with and prepare for the time. If you know you want to tackle multiple things in your time, having an agenda that you share beforehand is also helpful. Keep in mind that some people you meet with may feel comfortable arriving with very little information and others prefer to be able to think ahead and prepare a little more. Of course, there are also some unique circumstances when you aren’t able to share much detail ahead of the actual meeting. But those are often the exception!
4. Name the type of conversation you’re having and state goals.
Start your meeting by naming what kind of conversation you want to have and what your goals are for the time together.
Even though you’ve come into your meeting with clarity on what kind of meeting you need to have, be sure to state that for your meeting attendees. This can help everyone start on the same page about what you all need to accomplish together. For example, “Hey, everyone! Today I’d love for us to brainstorm as many ideas as we can around ___. We’re not filtering any of these ideas or deciding which ones are best. We’re just making the biggest list we can!” or “Hey, y’all. Today we really need to land on a decision for how we want to move forward on ___. I value your thoughts and input on this as we work to take the right next step together.”
Be careful about having too many goals for one meeting time or trying to combine multiple meeting types into one time. It can be hard to move from brainstorming to decision making in one conversation. And remember, you may need different people involved in those parts of the process!
5. Consider what you know about your meeting attendees (when possible).
As you think about facilitating your meeting, consider what you know about your attendees. Do they need some quick context from you to be up to speed? Do they love spreadsheets, slides, or Word documents? It’s important to think about what type of content and format will be most helpful for the people in the room based on learning styles, personalities, and so forth. Of course, we may not be able to cater to everyone’s preferences, but we need to at least think about what is going to resonate with the room.
6. Pay attention.
Pay attention to the temperature of the meeting room as the meeting time passes. Watch for reactions and emotions that come up and be prepared to pause or pivot if needed.
While you may have some big goals for your meeting time, don’t forget that a meeting is a room full of people coming in with their own stressors, opinions, and feelings. As the meeting leader, it’s important to pay attention to how people are responding during the conversation. We often get into the middle of a meeting and realize people are trying to have different types of conversations. If you’re in a brainstorming meeting and someone keeps shooting down ideas, feel free to redirect them and remind them that you aren’t filtering ideas yet. If things start to feel tense or big emotions come up, give yourself permission to pivot or change your approach. Caring for the people in the meeting is more important than reaching your intended goal for the time. Being genuinely curious about where people are coming from can create space for them to share and feel heard.
7. Keep an eye on the time.
In the last 5 minutes of a call, recap next steps.
When possible, do your best to end your meetings on time or early. This is a simple way to respect the people you’re meeting with and show them you are grateful for their time. Before ending the meeting, be sure to recap next steps and identify clear owners for each of those steps. Sometimes we just communicate next steps but forget to assign owners. This leads to confusion and additional clarification needed after the meeting time. Meetings can often cover a lot of ground, so offering clarity helps people know how you all are moving forward together.
If you’re looking for ways to lead an effective meeting, hoping you’ll leave your next meeting with momentum and energy, these are a few things to get you started! Meetings can feel hard, and I want to encourage you that they take lots of practice and patience. As you plan your next meeting, don’t forget that you’re fostering a conversation with people whom you get an opportunity to care for and encourage in these times together!
P.S. Leading a digital meeting and looking to shake things up and encourage engagement? Check out these icebreakers!
About Jessica Yentzer
Jessica Yentzer serves as Lifeway Women’s marketing manager. She loves helping women’s ministry leaders find the perfect study, event, or resource that specifically meets the needs of the women in their church! Well-written memoirs, dark chocolate, a good hiking trail, and the perfect fall day are just a few of the things that put a smile on her face. When she isn’t brainstorming marketing plans, she loves traveling and exploring the outdoors with her husband, Grant.
