Leaders Create Meetings Which Motivate

Meetings !

Meetings are an essential part of our working lives.

Whether it’s three people or thirty… in person or virtual…short or … painfully running over time, we must be part of meetings.

When the manager calls the meeting, the focus is more likely to be on timelines, budgets, procedures, and systems.

But the leader conducts a very different meeting.

It may be surprising, but people coming to the meeting called by leader, usually look forward to coming to the meeting.

So what’s different?

Leadership is a relationship, and that relationship certainly is evident at the start of the meeting and all the way through.

Most likely the leader will arrive on time. He or she will then be genuinely interested in the team members who have come to the meeting.

After all, his or her leadership will bring the results required for the overall team success.

One example of starting the meeting very successfully, is to have every person in the room relate a positive experience that they have had in the last week. Each person has one minute, and there is no “I’ll pass“.

Managers might regard this as frivolous, a waste of time, too ‘touchy-feely’.

Quite the opposite.

When a leader – as they do – touches the heart, that increases engagement, which is directly in line with improving performance.

When a leader conducts a meeting, the views and the contribution of every person in the room is important.

And each person knows that - because leaders listen.

The leader will be living their values, reminding the team of the vision they all share; the leader will be encouraging the team to ‘find a better way’, they will be empowering individual team members and of course, recognizing positive actions and behaviors as they ‘encourage the heart’.

And of course, everyone wants to come to the next meeting – and they’ll be on time.