Also known as the morning meeting, the 15-minute meeting can be either a productive, welcome part of your team’s calendar or be dreaded and feel like a chore to attend.
I want to share with you five tips which, after much trial and error, I've found have led to a more successful, enjoyable 15-minute meeting:
1. Include good news No matter how small, try to include some good news in the meeting. It could be about a project or a recent bit of work, new equipment in the office or future opportunities.
2. Start with an ice breaker Don’t be tempted to jump straight into the meeting. Start with a short, light conversation, a joke or even an interesting fact.
A great way to do this is to encourage people to arrive at the meeting a few minutes earlier to allow time for informal conversation and general banter between the team members.
3. Encourage everyone to share their ideas There are no stupid ideas. While all suggestions may not be gold dust, they should be equally heard and noted down. The important thing is to generate discussion, which may lead to even better proposals. No ideas should be immediately dismissed.
4. Show and tell When trying to convey an idea, sometimes a quick demonstration or some props are more effective than just talking. We all learn in different ways and mixing up our delivery can keep our team more engaged.
5. Ask everyone to contribute These meetings should be sized so that everyone has an opportunity to speak if they wish. If a team member isn’t contributing, it can be worthwhile directly asking for their opinion.
However, bear in mind that not all members are comfortable expressing their views in this setting.
TAKEAWAY: These five tips are easy to implement. I'm confident that by following them, you will have a more effective and enjoyable 15-minute meeting.