I think that one of the most powerful management tools that exists for getting people motivated, focused, and on-task is the "All hands meeting". Now, I agree right off the bat that there are good all hands meetings and there are bad ones. However, I really think that there are very positive things that can come out of bringing your people together as a team and sharing information with each other. It's incredibly important that everyone has a common sense of the direction they are going in and an idea of what lies ahead of them. An all hands meeting is the perfect time to instill a sense of purpose, of urgency, of importance, and of pride in each of your team members. Getting people from different groups together in one room is a unifying experience and can be a great way to galvanize a team and send them off in a positive direction.
Here are the core things that I think you have to have in order to pull off a successful meeting:
- Have a moderator Every meeting needs someone to make sure that it stays on track and that the things that need to be discussed get covered. This can either be the person that's delivering the address or someone that introduces and gives the floor over to others, but you have to have a custodian that looks out for the health of the meeting.
- Have an agenda The number one killer of meetings is the aimless leader who doesn't have a clear idea of what is going to be discussed in the meeting. Disconnected ramblings and flip-flopping between topics can confuse your attendees and fumbling around trying to remember what else you wanted to talk about only frustrates them.
- Be direct If you've got something to say then say it. People demand honesty and forthrightness from their leaders, even if it makes them upset or uncomfortable. Don't tip-toe around issues and come right out and say what needs saying. Nor is this the time for verbose and flowery language, quirky little jokes, or funny (to you) side stories. Don't water down your message with meaningless words.
- Be concise Keep topics short and sweet and avoid tangents and other rambling. Say enough to fully explain the concept you're trying to present, but keep out extraneous anecdotes or non-essential information. Let your team ask for more detailed information or background if they want it. These people are giving you their time and you must be considerate with it.
- Tie it all together After all of the items on the agenda have been covered, take just a moment to bring together the various topics that have been discussed and try to distill it all down into a single, easily digestible message. This is the message that you want your people to walk away with when the meeting is over. You don't want to repeat everything you've said before but, instead, try to summarize the important points into a little nugget that they can keep in their heads for the near future.
- Take questions Always allow your team to ask questions about the information that has been presented in the meeting or other relevant topics. It may be a good idea to ask people to hold questions until the end to make sure that all topics have been covered. Make sure there is time allotted for people to get more information, but the moderator should keep an eye out for questions or answers that take too long and cause things to drag on.
