- Jan
- 3
- 2017
Maximize Your Meeting Time
Wake up – it’s 2017 and we’ve got a lot to do.
Everyone knows the phrase out with the old and in with the new. Well here’s a perfect and easy way to kick start your new year – and get your team members loving you for something new.
Sweeten Your Meetin!
In a perfect working world, we’d all have on slippers, be working remotely, sitting on a yoga ball, and FaceTiming with our team members … but come on, we’re in health care!
We all want to create an inspiring experience for our teams, let’s consider some immediate solutions for boosting the dreaded term “staff meeting”:
First of all – rename the darn thing! Why not call it:
- Brake (Break) Time
- Cookies and Callout
- Time-Out
- Date Day
Whatever you decide to call your regularly scheduled meeting – start thinking fresh! Here are some ideas to help reinvent the experience:
- Spend a few minutes recognizing a team member for something they have a special interest in
- Spread a feel-good story about a colleague or client that your team members may not have access to
- Schedule/allow a time to stretch, stand or exit
- Designate and discuss a book or article of the month
- Schedule rotating attendees to provide a tidbit of news relevant to our work
- Allow others to experience the feeling of leadership – and rotate your facilitator
Note: Although these ideas may feel they could overwhelm your agenda – try a few of the above for 10 minutes then move on with your business in an efficient manner with an agenda and access to FaceTime or a conference line. Allow at least five minutes for exit and break, before the clock turns to the next hour. And smile 🙂
Good Idea
Finish your newly designed meeting with anonymous notes of “how did the meeting go and how can we improve” as attendees walk out the door or hang up on the line.
Report Back
Don’t freak in a silho! Find other leaders, have lunch, and discuss your meeting strategies for 2017.
Here’s to a happy, healthy and productive new year! Please post your comments and ideas!
good advice…meetings are important but so are the people that are attending! Having a nice atmosphere shows they are appreciated!
Tracey – this may sound outdated, but I love personalized name tags and place settings, get to know your neighbor tactics – anything that brings a big team off their day and into their group.
Great ideas, Sally Ann! We call our meetings “huddles” – especially those that require a ‘drop everything’ with a ‘can-do’ attitude. I also like to take conversations away from the office setting in a soft seating area or over coffee or lunch. A change of atmosphere can bring a change in perspective.
Hey Carolyn! Great input. A walk in the park may not always work, but a simple change in routine could work. Find a new conference room or maybe meet in the cafeteria at a quiet time. Mixing it up makes it happen!
I love the sitting on yoga ball idea
Really like the ideas shared which I plan on using! Next Weeks Team Meeting will be referred to as Brake Time. Thank you!
Great ideas! I plan to call next weeks Team Meeting Brake Time instead.
I call the meetings “huddles” in our office and I love the idea of a “7 minute stretch!”