Most meetings are lame. They waste the best time of our best people talking about menial things. They leave us thinking about all the things we didn’t need to know and leave us curious about a few things we really need to know. Most meetings could’ve been email threads that took five minutes to read. Instead we gathered for an hour or more to collectively waste time.

But what if meetings could be inspiring and informative gatherings no one wanted to miss? 

I was critical of our staff meetings, and then I started leading them. It was much harder in reality than it was in my mind. A tired scattering of individuals comes together from various departments in the name of team, and we hope to unite over one purpose for an hour or two. That’s no small task.

Most meetings lack purpose. We simply go through the motions, because this is what we’ve always done. Clarify and re-clarify the purpose throughout the meeting. Write it on the agenda or on the whiteboard.

Most meetings also don’t have a defined structure. Meetings without a structure make people nervous, because they don’t know what to expect. This doesn’t create safety. Every team meeting should have a structure to it. I believe every meeting needs three elements; the four V’s.

Value. Meetings must show value to those who gather. You can do this in many ways from homemade food to relational interaction to sharing a deeper level of information to thanking team members for what they’re doing. Ultimately we show value by leading with purpose and excellence. Make sure to value the team by ending on time.

Victories. Everyone in an organization needs to know specific ways the team is winning. Meetings are the ideal place to share these victories. I start nearly every staff meeting with “victory stories”. Uncover good things that are happening and celebrate them. Let people celebrate the victories in their department or per view. Do this at the beginning of meetings, because this raises the morale of the whole meeting. When we fail to uncover and share the victories we will find things to complain about.

Vision. People need to glimpse at a bigger picture of the WHY of the organization. We feel stuck within our schedules, under piles of endless details and inside our email inboxes during the week, but a meeting is a chance to rise out of these. A good meeting gives us a moment to lift our heads and remind us why we’re doing everything we’re doing.

Voice. The team needs to speak and be heard. It’s a human need that must be met or people will disengage. People need to know they can affect decisions or at least be heard by those around the table. This gets harder as the team gets bigger, but we must get creative and find ways to do this. At times, people will voice personal things that don’t directly affect the professional matters you’re discussing. Let me assure you this is worth it!

Spend some time focusing on the purpose for your team meetings and apply the four V’s and watch what happens.