The four meetings most teams need
- Weekly team meeting. Review a short scorecard, check progress on priorities and solve the one or two issues that matter most this week.
- One-on-ones. Every manager meets each direct report on a regular schedule, weekly or every other week, to talk about work, blockers and growth.
- Monthly business review. Leadership looks at the numbers for the month, what changed and what needs attention next.
- Quarterly planning. Pick a small number of priorities for the next quarter, with an owner for each.
Give every meeting a set agenda
A standing agenda keeps meetings short and makes them easy to run when the usual leader is out. For a weekly team meeting, a simple order works well: scorecard, priorities, issues, decisions and owners.
Write down decisions and owners
End every meeting with a short list of what was decided and who does what by when. Keep the list in one shared place so the next meeting starts by checking it.
Drop meetings without a job
Once the rhythm is in place, look at every other recurring meeting. If it has no clear purpose that the rhythm does not already cover, cancel it. Most teams end up with fewer meetings, not more.
Keep the rhythm going
A rhythm only works if it holds when things get busy. Put the meetings on the calendar for the whole quarter, keep them short, and review the format every few months.
We set up meeting rhythms, scorecards and ownership for growing teams, and help managers keep them running. See team management.