After a sports team finishes a game, the players don't just pack up their gear and go home. They reconvene with the coach for a post-game meeting to discuss what happened out on the field. This recapping of events to inform future strategy translates easily into the business world.
A quick, end-of-meeting recap with attendees can be dually effective for ensuring the gathering achieved its objectives, and that future meetings will be successful, according to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review.
Here are three steps leaders should take at the conclusion of every meeting.
1. Reconfirm main ideas and plans moving forward. Before everyone gets up to leave, go over what was decided in the meeting, who is accountable for different responsibilities and how communication on a given initiative or task will occur. Everyone should have the same understanding of the meeting's outcome to reduce the likelihood for misunderstanding down the road.
2. Create communication points. Anyone in attendance at the meeting should be able to answer the question, "What did I miss?" from a colleague who was absent, according to the Harvard Business Review. To prepare attendees to answer this question, pose the same to them: "What are the most important things we accomplished in this meeting?" Record the key points on a flip chart or whiteboard, but note which, if any, should be kept confidential. Then, after the meeting, send the agreed upon talking points to everyone in attendance at the meeting.
3. Ask for feedback. While the session is still fresh in everyone's minds, ask attendees to give feedback on the meeting. This is a great opportunity to learn the preferred meeting styles among individuals who meet regularly, which can in turn improve efficiency. Instead of asking vague questions like "What feedback do you have?", ask attendees what they found particularly effective and what they would change to help improve meetings in the future.