Posted
Nov 30, 2015 10:12 AM
Meetings provide opportunities to exchange ideas, learn about organizational successes and challenges and hatch plans for organizational improvements or program growth. But how can you ensure that a meeting is worth the time and cost and that your meeting goals are met? We provide some helpful resources for making the most out of your meetings of the minds.
Meetings provide opportunities to exchange ideas, learn about organizational successes and challenges and hatch plans for organizational improvements or program growth. But how can you ensure that a meeting is worth the time and cost and that your meeting goals are met?
Consider these resources:
- Under "Facilitation" in our Statewide Nonprofit Resource Directory, we list a series of questions you need to ask yourself when facilitating a meeting or retreat.
- The Center for Ethical Leadership offers peacekeeping circles and an excellent Gracious Space Toolkit that includes many tools and creative and powerful approaches to gatherings. The Center for Ethical Leadership is a national nonprofit located in Seattle that cultivates leadership and change capacity in the sector.
- If you have a large team working on a project, consider holding brief “stand-up” meetings for “huddles” at a set time for 15-30 minutes to keep everyone coordinated.
- Al Pittampalli, author of Read This Before Our Next Meeting at an AFP sponsored conference talking about revolutionizing our meeting culture to avoid spending time in pointless meetings or in meetings that slow down decision-making and action.
- For fun – and enlightenment - read Vu Le’s posts about scheduling meetings and meeting formations.
Photo courtesy of the Center for Ethical Leadership.