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A friend looked at her work calendar and sighed because she had a week full of meetings.
She continued to vent about attending unstructured meetings with rude people. Team gatherings that lacked defined meeting ground rules.
Technology is wonderful, but its (negative) impact on meeting productivity is significant.
There was a time (not too long ago) when meetings didn’t have the challenge and distraction of ringing cell phones, beeping text messages, emails on laptops, or news updates on iPads.
I’m not suggesting that meetings then were always run well – because they weren’t.
But there are definitely things a meeting team leader can do to increase participation and reduce wasted time in group meetings.
Anyone who has had team leader skills training understands the concept and importance of having meeting ground rules.
These meeting rules help influence positive meeting etiquette and productivity – which is an important part of effective church management.
So what are meeting ground rules?
Meeting ground rules are simply an agreed-upon list of behavior expectations for team members while participating in a meeting.
They help hold everyone accountable for their behavior so they can stay focused on the task at hand.
Chartered committees or decision-making councils often set ground rules.
However, the day-to-day meetings that most of us endure don’t always see the value in, or take the time to, establish those behavioral expectations.
This can be frustrating for the person trying to facilitate the meeting.
Every organization should have meeting expectations (meeting ground rules) printed and hung in every conference room.
That said, there always needs to be flexibility in practice.
Individual teams may adjust their ground rules based on the meeting objective and the participants involved.
They may add to or take away rules.
For example, if a team is charged with coming up with a creative theme for the upcoming vacation bible school, having laptops and iPads to use as a resource for ideas may be appropriate.
How to establish meeting ground rules.
To create a list of group or team ground rules, start by communicating your behavior expectations as the meeting facilitator.
Then, open it up to team members and see if they have anything to add.
Ask them how they would like the group to interact and behave – and what they hope to gain out of participation in the group.
Have them share their own frustrating meeting experiences – when people spoke out of turn, played on their phones, or simply showed up late and unprepared.
Once the group thinks about those pain points, they will quickly add their own pet peeve.
Example of Team Meeting Ground Rules
- Turn off cell phones – Cell phones can distract from a productive meeting and cause you to lose focus on the topic.
- No side conversations – Side conversations are rude, distracting, and can create division among team members.
- Be respectful of the ideas of others – All team members bring a diversity of thought to a meeting. Respect the thoughts and opinions of others and ask questions to clarify meaning.
- Maintain confidentiality – Team meetings often discuss confidential information, and team member interactions should be confidential. For instance, if the team debates a disagreement, treat that debate as confidential and don’t discuss it outside team meetings.
- Show up on time – Everyone’s time is valuable. Showing up late to a meeting is rude and shows disrespect to fellow team members. Do your best to show up on time out of respect for other team members.
- Start and end meetings on time – No one likes meetings that run past their scheduled time. Assign a timekeeper with a timed-out agenda to keep the group on task. When the time is up, promptly end the meeting.
- Everyone participates – Teams are formed with members who bring valuable knowledge and experience. The facilitator is responsible for ensuring that everyone participates by managing the dominant personalities and encouraging everyone (the more timid personalities) to share thoughts and ideas.
- Everyone comes to the meeting prepared – Most meetings result in the next steps that require team homework. Team members should take this responsibility seriously and be prepared to discuss agenda items.
- No electronic devices – Unless a meeting requires a laptop or iPad for research, require members to silence and park their personal devices at the door.
If you look at this list, you will notice each rule supports a focused meeting that respects others without the distractions of technology.
Again, these are merely examples of some of the more common ground rules.
Obviously, every meeting, every team, every group has different goals, objectives, and agendas.
This is why customizing ground rules for each meeting often makes sense.
Meetings are an important way to achieve strategy and to get things done.
Take time to create meeting ground rules for your teams so the time spent in the conference room is productive for all!
Do you use ground rules for your meetings?
