The Importance of An Executive Team Meeting
What Is The Purpose Of An Executive Team Meeting?
Your team, especially your executive team, is busy. You are all working hard in your specific departments on separate projects to achieve a greater goal. Sometimes, especially if your team is working like a well-oiled machine, days, weeks, maybe even a month can pass before the whole Executive Team has a chance to catch up with one another. While everything is running smoothly, there must be regular Executive Team Meetings or a meeting with the department heads to connect, share progress and concerns, or ask questions.
What Exactly Is An Executive Team Meeting?
It's always important and necessary for the company's health for regular meetings to occur. No matter what the topic or the department, communication is critical.
An Executive Team Meeting is a meeting of each head of the department. While no company has the same Executive Team, holding a time for the team to meet and go over strategy, future goals, and pain points is helpful for the whole company.
Does Your Team Need an Executive Team Meeting?
If your company has a leadership team, it's in the business's best interest to have an executive team meeting. Executive team meetings are allotted time to discuss the expectations of each department for the future. In this timeframe, discuss each department's setbacks and bounce ideas off one another. Opening up this space for your leadership team can improve communication and productivity.
Because the executive team represents each department head, it makes sense not to call a meeting every week. Instead, find a cadence that works for your team in a productive manner that won't hinder schedules but will be a beneficial use of time.
How To Design A Framework For Executive Team Meetings
As with any meeting, it is essential to outline what topics you plan to discuss and which you don't. While other meetings held throughout the month with your departments may be for day-to-day decision-making, a meeting with your executive team should be more strategic. Leave the discussions surrounding operations for another session. When well planned, an agenda for these meetings can take two weeks to create and should include how you plan to talk about significant pain points and accomplishments that most impact the business.
How To Make The Most Out Of Your Team Meeting
For Attendees, Try To Stick To The Core Team
It's easy to want to invite many of your staff to meetings, but for the executive team meeting, it is crucial to stick to the core team. Narrowing down attendance and having representation for each department will ensure efficient and effective use of time.
Set A Clear Agenda And Share It Ahead Of Time
Before your meeting begins, ensure you have set and shared the agenda. Allowing the attendees to see what is to be discussed will enable them to prepare and answer any questions that may arise.
Keep It Positive
Make sure everyone can leave the meeting feeling good. Keep it positive and informative while being direct and timely.
Review Key Metrics and Goals Of The Team
Now is the time to go over key metrics and goals. Everyone is working separately to come together and accomplish a greater goal. Your executive team meeting is the perfect time to review what is working or what is not and review department goals and the bigger-picture goal.
Highlight Good News and Wins
As crucial as troubleshooting is at these meetings, it's just as important to highlight the wins and bright spots. Doing this will keep your team motivated and feel valued.
Identify Challenges and How To Overcome Them
Every business has challenges, and discussing them in the executive team meeting opens the door for many solutions. When everyone comes together to discuss issues, everyone can also discuss solutions.
Capture Decisions and Assign Action Items
Executive team meetings are the ideal time to assign action items. Doing so in this space is particularly productive because questions can be asked, and there will be no miscommunications about what is expected from the team.
Prepare Notes And Follow-Ups.
Taking notes about key talking points and what needs to be followed up on after the meeting is a great way to ensure everything you discuss gets done. In addition, revisiting what was decided can keep everyone on track and understand each individual's role when it comes to doing what needs to be done.
Team Executive Meeting Agenda Templates
When building out your executive agenda, it will be helpful to break it down into a two-week process to prepare appropriately. Ask yourself these questions:
What needs to be done regarding holding the meeting – are invites set, are conference rooms booked, or meeting links available? Next, focus on your agenda. What key points do you plan to discuss? From there, begin building out your presentation. After that is all set, decide who will take notes or record the meeting if needed. Finally, after the discussion has concluded, organize all the notes, get a clear picture of what decisions were made and send a follow-up to attendees.
Summary/Conclusion
While everyone on your leadership team is very busy, it's crucial to the company's success that the team touches base regularly. Opening lines of communication with your executive team will ensure everyone is doing what needs to be done, future strategies are created, and challenges are met with solutions. In addition, making your meetings productive, positive, and timely will help your business grow more efficiently. If you're looking to grow your business, we can help. Contact GCE Today.