Getting the Best Out of Your Meetings

Every Monday you hold a meeting for your department to discuss the past week and what's coming up in the coming week. But every week you have the same problem: The meeting takes directions which you hadn't planned on. The result? The team spends double the time you planned on in the meeting and some of the conclusions are forgotten.
 

Here are some tips on get better results from your meetings:
 

Prepare An Agenda 
Create an agenda of all the topics you need to cover in the meeting. Have these in writing and not just in your head. Things are more easily organized and remembered when they are in writing.
 

Organize Your Agenda 
Putting the agenda in writing is still not enough to be ready for the meeting: You need to organize you agenda. Prioritize the items on your agenda, with the most important item being first. For each item on the list, put a time frame for how long that item can be addressed. Don't forget to put time aside for discussions. It is also a good idea to print the agenda and distribute it.
 

Encourage Input 
Send an email or memo to the meeting attendees in advance. Ask them what they think should be included in the agenda. This will help in planning effectively without surprise issues popping up in a meeting. Your team will feel that you-their leader-listen to them and make them feel that they are an important part of the team.
 

Follow the Agenda 
During the meeting, follow the agenda closely. There is no point in creating an agenda if you don't follow it. The attendees should be informed or have a copy of the agenda before the meeting, so they know what will be discussed and can prepare accordingly.
 

Meeting Minutes 
Have a team member take minutes of the meeting. This is important so that everyone knows the outcome of the meeting and there is no confusion or misunderstanding about anything. And afterwards, make sure the minutes are shared with all those who were present in the meeting, to make it easy to follow up on agreed upon goals/targets.
 

It's always a good idea to start a meeting discussing and reviewing the points of the previous one and checking the progress of projects and tasks. 
 

Good Luck!