Five Steps To Effective Meetings

Here is some good and practical advice for how to lead effective meetings, from the book, First-Time Leader:

Context. Understand the meeting's place in the broader journey. It's not about the meeting itself, or even the meeting experience. It's about how the meeting moves its participants forward along the path and fits with everything else.
Objective. Set an overall single objective for the meeting and clear expectations for learning, contributions, and decisions by agenda item and attendee in order to align with the single objective and with the meeting's place in the broader journey.
Pre-work. Make sure to get appropriate pre-work and pre-reading to people far enough in advance for all to learn/contribute to their fullest potential.
Delivery. Manage meeting participation and timing to optimize learning, contributions and action-oriented decisions.
Follow-Through. Get meeting notes out promptly to memorialize decisions and actions, kicking off the preparation for the next meeting and implementation of decisions and actions.

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