Team Meetings That Shouldn’t Be An Email

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Why do some team meetings feel like time sucks? BECAUSE THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN EMAIL. Whether you’re a completely remote team, in the office all the time or somewhere in between, meetings are going to happen. As hard-working creatives, we don’t like our flow being interrupted for meaningless chitchat or something we could have read at the end of the day.

But what if I told you that the necessary evil of team meetings DOESN’T HAVE TO BE AWFUL?! Yup, you read that right. These in-person or zoom meetings could absolutely give you that much needed connection and energy boost you didn’t even know you were craving. We’re talking brainstorming sessions that get your wheels turning, celebrating small victories that make you feel like a rockstar and getting outside perspective on a problem that has taken you waaaaay longer than necessary to solve (because who actually puts “solve that one problem” at the top of their to-do list?).

 The Sunburst Strategies Collaborative is going to let you in on our regularly scheduled programming for team meetings that get to the point quickly, create unity and keep our company’s “why” top of mind. In our opinion, these team meetings shouldn’t be emails and we’re glad we’ve implemented these regular check-ins. Explore this structure for yourself and see if it finally hits that sweet spot of getting it done without wasting time.

 Inspired by the Entrepreneurial Operating System method found in Traction by Gino Wickman, our regularly scheduled meetings include:

•  Weekly

• Leadership Meeting

• Department Meeting

• Monthly

• Visionary + Integrator Meeting

• Quarterly

• Leadership Strategic Planning Meeting

• Team Member Reviews

• Annually

• Annual Planning Meeting

• Annual Thank You Party!

We have found that this schedule and structure has created more intentionality, accountability, transparency and focus allowing us to operate more efficiently and effectively. How? Let’s dive on in!

The Weekly Team Meetings

Weekly Leadership Meeting

Who: All the department managers

Lead: Integrator (What’s that? Click here to learn more.)

What: Reporting department’s progress + weekly priorities

When: Monday morning, for about an hour

Why: To see how each department is working towards the overall company’s goals

The Weekly Leadership Meeting should include all of the managers. These are the people that run your departments and represent the team members that work in those departments. During this time, all the managers will be reporting on their respective department’s progress and sharing the weekly priorities. It’s best to schedule this sometime in the morning at the top of the week so everyone can be on the same page about their gameplan. We have ours on Mondays at 11:00a, giving the leadership team enough time to complete any preparation and have their weekly check-ins with their department. This works out pretty well for us because by the time we finish up, it’s time for lunch! Everyone can take a break, wrap their head around what was discussed and recharge. Now the afternoon is ready to welcome action! Pro tip: we’ve also started incorporating a “book club” of sorts. At the top of the month, we’ll pick a book from our bookshelf, leadership will read it, and then we’ll discuss it at the end of the month. Give it a try!

Weekly Department Meeting

Who: Each department individually

Lead: Manager of that department

What: Reporting department’s progress + addressing any issues + weekly priorities

When: FIRST THING Monday morning, for about an hour

Why: To see how this department is working towards the overall company’s goals

The Weekly Department Meeting should include all team members in an individual department. During this time, the manager of that department is reporting on the department’s progress, addressing any issues and working out the weekly priorities with the team. The best time for this is FIRST THING at the top of the week so everyone can start strong. We have ours on Mondays at 8:30a so everyone can be on the same page before beginning work. This works out well for us because it breathes unity and teamwork FROM THE START of the week. Although run by the department manager, everyone gets a voice to share their thoughts on the progress, issues and priorities at hand. This creates SO MUCH VALUE for team members so they feel like an integral piece of the company puzzle.

The Monthly Team Meetings 

Monthly Visionary + Integrator Meeting

Who: Visionary + Integrator (What’s that? Click here to learn more.)

What: Reporting overall progress + addressing any issues + monthly priorities

When: At the end of the month, for about half a day

Why: To ensure the company’s vision and mission is being served by the overall company’s goals

The Monthly Visionary + Integrator Meeting should include the owner of the company and their right-hand person. During this time, the Visionary and the Integrator’s top priority is making sure that the overall company’s goals that have been set are ultimately serving the company’s vision and mission. This will include reviewing the company’s vision and mission and how that translates to the work being done by each department and each person. Is everything aligned? Does everything make sense? If a piece of the puzzle isn’t working, what are we going to do about it? This is also a time to ensure that “Mom & Dad” can work out any disagreements or discrepancies behind closed doors so that they may have a united front AT ALL TIMES in front of the company. Accountability and transparency have nowhere to hide during this time together. Think of it as your monthly marriage counseling session with one another, sans the therapist. (But by all means, if y’all do need to do therapy together, WE ARE 1000000% ON BOARD WITH THAT! That’s just a different time than this.) Whatever needs to be worked out, don’t leave the meeting until it’s worked out and you both are on the same page. It’s also important to keep this meeting sacred and not share the details of your time together with the rest of the team. Remember, your kids (the company) need to see Mom & Dad (both of you) as a united front at all times! Note: Just like a marriage, public disagreements between the both of you in front of others that you are leading is a good thing. We’re not saying don’t disagree. What we are saying is that you both should always keep in mind that you are always leading and teaching; a public display of healthy debate will teach your team members to speak their mind with compassion, always relating their stance back to the vision and mission. Need some tips? Click here to learn more.

The Quarterly Team Meetings 

Quarterly Leadership Strategic Planning Meeting

Who: Visionary + Integrator + All the department managers

Lead: Integrator

What: Review of the previous quarter’s performance & setting clear objectives for the next quarter

When: A week or two before the end of the quarter, for about a day

Where: Offsite

Why: To ensure strategic alignment, revisit the company’s vision and make necessary adjustments to stay on track 

The Quarterly Leadership Strategic Planning Meeting should include the Visionary, the Integrator and all the department managers. Overall, this meeting is like a mashup of the weekly leadership meeting and the monthly visionary + integrator meeting. All the managers will be reporting on their respective department’s progress from the previous quarter and everyone has a voice on how the work being done serves (or doesn’t) the company’s vision and mission. Is everything aligned? Does everything make sense? If a piece of the puzzle isn’t working, what are we, as the leadership team, going to do about it? The quarterly leadership strategic planning meeting should be held off site to allow for optimal creative and critical thinking without being distracted by the day to day happening in the office. Set aside about a day for this so there’s plenty of time for review, reflection, planning and discussion. Everyone should be ready for healthy debates that ultimately serve the vision and mission of the company.

Quarterly Team Member Review Meetings

Who: Manager of the department + individual team members

Lead: Manager

What: Review of the previous quarter’s individual performance & setting clear individual objectives for the next quarter

When: A week or two before the end of the quarter, for about half an hour

Why: To ensure strategic alignment, revisit the company’s vision and make necessary individual adjustments to stay on track

 The Quarterly Team Member Review Meeting should include the department manager and each team member individually. This 1:1 time is set aside to create a safe space for candid conversation and constructive feedback, not only for the team member, but for the manager too. Each person has the opportunity to share their thoughts on the others’ achievements and challenges over the past quarter. This two-way street creates a culture of continuous development and mutual respect. As always, it’s important to continually tie these observations back to the company’s mission and vision so that this time together isn’t charged by emotion, but by a sense of teamwork. Note: We are firm believers that this should not be an annual meeting, but a quarterly meeting. In our experience, allowing an entire year to fly by leaves too much room for misstep & miscommunication and not enough opportunities for individual connection, teaching and encouragement.

The Annual Team Meetings

Annual Planning Meeting

Who: Visionary + Integrator + All the department managers

Lead: Integrator

What: Review of the previous year’s performance, update the long-term vision & set clear goals for the upcoming year

When: A week or two before the end of the fiscal year, for about a couple of days

Where: Offsite

Why: To set the strategic direction and ensure everyone is on the same page

The Annual Planning Meeting should include the Visionary, the Integrator and all the department managers. Overall, this meeting is like the quarterly leadership strategic planning meeting. All the managers will be reporting on their respective department’s progress from the previous year and everyone has a voice on how the work being done serves (or doesn’t) the company’s vision and mission. Is everything aligned? Does everything make sense? If a piece of the puzzle isn’t working, what are we, as the leadership team, going to do about it? The annual strategic planning meeting should be held off site to allow for optimal creative and critical thinking without being distracted by the day to day happening in the office. Set aside about two days for this so there’s plenty of time for setting the strategic direction and to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Annual Thank You Party!

Who: Everyone in the company

What: A relaxed and fun experience to say thank you to your team

When: Whenever makes the most sense for your company’s schedule + culture

Where: Offsite

Why: To create value for everyone on your team

The Annual Thank You Party is definitely a must to get on the calendar! This party is for everyone in the company and can include significant others of team members and their kids too, if you want. This could be an adults-only Christmas party at the country club on a Friday night with a full buffet, bar and DJ or a family picnic on a Saturday at a local park with a couple of food trucks. Whatever you decide, make sure it makes sense with your company culture and your budget. Although Pizza Friday is a good time, this doesn’t really scream, “You’re amazing and I’m so thankful for all the work you do!” You don’t have to go over the top, but make sure your team members know how much value they bring to the company and that you appreciate them and their families more than they’ll ever know.

There you have it! This is the team meeting structure that we use at The Sunburst Strategies Collaborative to keep everyone aligned, on track and drive connection. As always, take what works for you and your business and scrap the rest. Try something for a little while, tweak it, then add something else. Not working for you? Get rid of it. Just promise us one thing: don’t make these meetings an email and please please PLEASE don’t have a meeting that SHOULD have been an email! ;)

Need some further guidance on how to get all these meetings on the calendar? Check this out.

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