What are the possible purposes of a team meeting?
When a meeting is called, there is usually one of five reasons that it needs to occur.
1. Information sharing: Whether it’s an opportunity to share feedback from your team members to your manager, or the chance for a new team to hear important information, information sharing is a core function of meetings — and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. This meeting format helps everyone get on the same page.
2. Problem solving: Everyone runs into trouble at work from time to time. A problem solving team meeting will help your team members feel supported in their role, using every team member as an asset to help others overcome their work related problems.
3. Brainstorming: Gathering with your team members and coming up with ideas for a future project can be one style of effective team meetings. Brainstorming sessions within specific departments also help to boost collaboration.
4. Decision making: This is especially the case in executive meetings, with a team meeting being held to make decisions about how certain aspects of the business or a new project are going to be run.
5. Building relationships: A manager might schedule a one-on-one meeting in order to get to know their new employees. Equally, if they’re just starting out in their position, they might conduct an introductory meeting to say hello to the team and share why they’ve been inducted into that particular management position.
These categories define the type of meeting that it’s going to be. Typically, if you read the meeting agenda, there will be a reason at the top of the sheet that explains the meeting’s purpose. Team meetings, one-on-one meetings, and executive meetings all fall into one of these four.