Strengthen your meeting agendas!

Bob Tiede March 30, 2021

my saved content

VIEW AS
A PDF

iStock

How many meeting agendas have you read where the leader listed topics but gave you no clue as to what outcome he/she wanted?

Or how many times have you discovered—during your meeting— that the leader had no intended outcomes for the agenda items?

And on top of all of that, how many times have you discovered that the leader in question … is you? Take for example:

Executive Team Meeting Agenda:

• Sales
• Budget
• Customer Service
• Leveraging Strengths
• National Conference

When you read though the above agenda, do you have any idea what outcome the leader is wanting from the discussion of each item? You could, of course, guess, but how often do you think your guess would be correct?

So how can you strengthen your agenda? It really is quite simple: turn your agenda items into questions!

The leader simply asks: What outcome am I wanting from the discussion of each agenda item? How can I turn that outcome into an easy-to-understand question?

If an outcome cannot be identified, then there is no need to include that item in your agenda.

Here is the revised executive team meeting agenda:

1. What are our top 20% sales force members doing that the rest of our sales force is not?
2. Are your expenses over, under, or on track with your budget?
3. How can we turn customer complaints into satisfied customer endorsements?
4. How are you leveraging the unique strengths of each of your team members to accomplish your strategic plan?
5. What can we do to increase attendance at our national conference?

When you read through the revised meeting agenda can you now clearly understand what outcome the leader is wanting from the discussion of each item? Not exactly rocket science is it?

Turning your agenda items into questions is another easily doable example of how leading with questions can dramatically increase your leadership effectiveness!

Excerpted fromNow That's a Great Question, by Bob Tiede which you can download for free at LeadingWithQuestions.com/resources.

my saved content

VIEW AS
A PDF

Bob Tiede helps leaders everywhere move from telling to asking. He has been on the staff of Cru for 48 years and on the U.S. Leadership Development Team for 16 years. His blog, LeadingWithQuestions.com is followed by leaders in over 190 countries. Bob has written three eBooks available for free download, Great Leaders ASK Questions, 339 Questions Jesus Asked and Now That's a Great Question. Learn More »

• How bad virtual habits can become powerful leadership tools (by Scott Cochrane)
• Leadership alignment: realign your team for success with simple adjustments (by Christian Muntean)
• How to unleash the power of the spinal tap leadership principle (by Scott Cochrane)
• How to build values by ringing the bell for what matters (by Scott Cochrane)

Free eBook

Steps to Launching Your Personal Workplace Ministry

Have you ever felt the pull to full-time ministry work as a missionary or pastor? If not, you can still make a Kingdom impact without quitting your current job. In this eBook, you will learn the four essentials that can change your perspective of work, your workplace, and most importantly, your heart.

Download Now