5 Types of Meetings & How to Lead Them like a Pro

Have you ever left a meeting and felt like it was a waste of your time? Unfortunately, that is common at the workplace. In fact, research shows that only 50% of the time spent in meetings is effective. The other 50%? It feels like a drag without any apparent purpose, leadership or organisation.

What you want is a meeting that will leave everyone motivated and clear on what they need to get done in the following days or weeks. But there are different types of meetings and running each one successfully will be different from one another. So here’s how you can lead each one like a pro.

#1 The Brainstorming Meeting
The one where everybody gets together to generate new ideas and innovative concepts. Brainstorming sessions are most successful when everyone is given equal opportunity to share. But this doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any structure or you’ll end up coming out of that meeting with no concrete ideas! The best way to conduct this meeting is to divide it into two parts – first, for everyone to speak freely and share ideas, and second, to give people time to think and comment on the ideas presented.

#2 The One-on-One Meeting
Maybe it’s with your boss or someone who is under your care but one-on-one meetings are usually more casual and unfolds like a normal conversation. You don’t really need to follow an agenda but having a running document on what you want to touch on will guide you in this meeting to make sure you don’t miss out on anything. Also, make sure to give it a time frame, say 30 minutes. Respect the other person’s schedule and don’t go over the stipulated time.

#3 The Check-In Meeting
The most common type of meeting – regular progress-check meetings to keep everyone updated on what they are working on as well as the next few steps to take moving forward. To lead this effectively, list down the important things you want to get an update on. Ask the right questions (again, prepare this ahead of time) and get feedback on what to expect next. Ask for comments or ideas from others who are not involved in this specific task to get everyone’s input if it can be improved on. This helps everyone to feel involved and motivated to help one another. Make sure to also set an agenda on what you want to discuss at the next check-in meeting so the person involved will be able to focus on that task beforehand to give you an update at the next meeting.

#4 The Hybrid Meeting
Something that has become increasingly common after the pandemic! The most important aspect to run this meeting successfully is to make sure everything works, especially the technology. Get all your meeting tools ready – a conference room with a large screen and strong internet connection. Set the agenda and send it to the participants ahead of time so everyone is on the same page on what needs to be discussed, especially if some of the participants are from a different location and may not be in contact with you on a daily basis. Test the technology in advance. Be an active moderator and allocate an appropriate amount of time for everyone to speak. Have a closing after the meeting to ensure all’s happy with what’s being discussed and the solutions ahead. Finally, don’t have a “meeting after the meeting” when someone has logged off – you want everyone to be in the discussion and not come up with new ideas without everyone present.

#5 The Post Mortem Meeting
The one where everyone talks about what went right – and wrong – after completing a project. Regardless of how the project ended, keep the meeting at a positive tone to encourage everyone to share their success and failures. It’s an opportunity to learn for the next projects. Make a list of what went right and what could be improved, and get everyone to input. Give everyone involved the chance to share their experience and afterthoughts.

Photo by Pawel Chu on Unsplash.