Over the last several weeks I have not been really meeting with my team.  I miss these chances to connect and have conversation about what is happening in our ministry area.  So, why have I not been meeting?  I have been thinking of ways to redesign our team meeting to help make it more effective.  We have a lot going on and I really want to make sure that we are doing the right things with our time.  Here are a few things that I believe you should consider when it comes to meeting with your team.

a.  There time is valuable – you have a group of people who are working very hard to accomplish the goals of the team and to fulfill the responsibilities that you have given them.  For you to gather and wast their time will not gain you the respect nor the leadership that you need.  If you have something to talk about you should be gathering.  If it becomes a tell me what you are doing and there is no discussion, stop meeting.

b.  Prepare for your time – how often do you walk away from a meeting and just feel like you would have done better to sit there and respond to the emails that are sitting in your inbox?  This is a sign that the meeting that you have just sat through was not properly planned or if it was planned well, the wrong people were invited.  Patrick Lencioni does a great job of sharing with us how we can create effective meetings in his book, Death by Meeting.  I would encourage you to get it and read it.  If you value the time of your team then value what you are going to be talking about and prepare for the meeting.

When it comes to valuing the time of your team and preparing an effective meeting I think that there are four components that you need to develop.  In your meeting you will want to make sure that these four components become a part of the culture of your team meetings.
1.    Teach something
2.    Communicate success stories
3.    Encourage them
4.    Give them a voice

Gathering with you team will be a lot of fun if you value their time and prepare for the meeting that you will be having.  If you simply show up and expect everyone to be excited that you are gathering together then you will miss out on the opportunity to really lead your team.