How to conduct a successful meeting
Communication is critical to ensure everyone involve understands, and feels comfortable asking questions.
When calling a meeting, in addition to writing a clear and concise subject line, I include a summary, an objective, and purpose of the meeting. I later document action items including the people and/or group of people who are key to the decision making process and tasks. It is also important to effectively bring in staff that may not be affected directly.
It is critical to actively listen. I validate my listening skills by saying back what the person said, during complicated discussions that may be unclear, starting with: “What I heard was….” It’s respectful to carefully listen to ensure the staff’s voice is being heard regardless if you agree or not. Their opinion and feedback is imperative as the staff has first-hand knowledge and experience which brings insight to items the team may not be aware of.