Why use meeting agendas

The process identifies the steps through which the team will move together to complete the discussion or make a decision. Agreeing on a process significantly increases meeting effectiveness, yet leaders rarely do it. Unless the team has agreed on a process, members will, in good faith, participate based on their own process. The process for addressing an item should appear on the written agenda. Any suggestions for improving this process? Specify how members should prepare for the meeting.

Distribute the agenda with sufficient time before the meeting, so the team can read background materials and prepare their initial thoughts for each agenda item ahead of time.

Identify who is responsible for leading each topic. Someone other than the formal meeting leader is often responsible for leading the discussion of a particular agenda item. This person may be providing context for the topic, explaining data, or may have organizational responsibility for that area.

Identifying this person next to the agenda item ensures that anyone who is responsible for leading part of the agenda knows it — and prepares for it — before the meeting. I once had a meeting scheduled with a senior leadership team. As we reviewed the agenda, I asked if we needed to modify anything. The CEO stated that he had just told the board of directors that he planned to resign and that we probably needed to significantly change the agenda.

Not all agenda modifications are this dramatic, but by checking at the beginning of the meeting, you increase the chance that the team will use its meeting time most effectively. If your team meets regularly, two questions form a simple continuous improvement process: What did we do well?

If you have been asked to facilitate someone else's meeting, meet with conveners ahead of time to plan it.

If you are a group member, judge whether it is appropriate to offer help creating an agenda beforehand. Whoever is involved, the key early step to designing an effective meeting is to be very clear about its purpose. Once the purpose is clear, communicate it to those involved, and plan meeting strategies that support the thoughtful involvement of those attending.

Sending an agenda before a meeting lets participants know what will be discussed, and gives them time to think about what you will discuss.

If that's not possible, an agenda created on the spot as the meeting starts still gives the meeting important focus. Define results first. What are the results your group needs to achieve by the end of the meeting? Write them down. If there is not a defined purpose, consider whether there really is a reason to meet. Identify the meeting's time frame. What kind of meeting time is needed for the meeting's purpose? Different time frames fit different purposes — from the five-minute daily check-in to the two-day retreat.

Should anyone need to leave the meeting early, having an agenda helps them know what is going to be discussed. If they need to catch up with you later to fill in the blanks, they have a general idea of what was talked about. Was someone late to the meeting?

Having an agenda is courteous to other guests you may have included in the meeting. It can also help invited speakers prepare for when and what they will talk about. With a clear outline of what is going to be talked about, employees will feel freer to participate.

Include time for questions and answers about what was discussed. Also, add a line item to the agenda for staff members to bring up issues they feel are important. When employees are valued and empowered they are more loyal and productive. Have you ever gotten off topic in a discussion?

If you are like the majority of people you said yes to this question which means you need a meeting agenda. It is far easier to stop wasting time , stay focused, and get back on track when you have the discussion items in front of you to reference. You can cut down on the number of meetings everyone attends by ensuring all the important topics were covered. This will not only assure coverage of key issues; it is also a way of quickly grabbing attendee attention and conveying the value of the meeting.

And while it is fine to start a meeting with 5 minutes or so of news and notes, after that concludes, go all in addressing the most challenging, important, and vexing questions.

If the questions are all of equal importance, consider privileging questions provided by attendees themselves. By doing so, you are living into a strong set of inclusion and shared-ownership values. After your set of questions is finalized, distribute the meeting agenda in advance so people have time to think about and prepare for the questions to be addressed.

Then a meeting leader needs to execute on the agenda. The most successful leaders not only consider what should be covered in a meeting, but also how to cover each item. For instance, an agenda topic can be actively facilitated by you, or you can give that responsibility to someone else.

It can be set on a timer or not, or addressed in a nonconventional manner such as having people brainstorm in silence , using voting apps, working in pairs, etc. An agenda topic can be addressed in two deliberate phases separated by a break: deliberation and decision. Or it could even involve certain attendees role-playing key stakeholders e. Clearly, there are numerous approaches to consider.

Let me share an example of this in practice for one meeting leader. This leader knows her team is composed of some very strong extroverted personalities and some quiet introverts. Plus, the introverts are the more junior folks on the team.

Given this, the leader turned to a host of silence-based techniques.