Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/running-effective-and-engaging-staff-meetings/5024858/
Meaningful staff meetings are essential to harnessing the combined wisdom of your staff. Directors are in a pivotal position to make meetings a positive part of your organization. Staff meetings are an effective way to rally the troops, lower stress and help staff feel good about their work. According to Nancy Pennington Alexander, author of Twelve Essential Topics in Early Childhood: A Year of Professional Development in Staff Meetings, “It is important that staff meetings are held regularly to ensure staff knowledge and practices are up to date, developmentally appropriate and consistent. They are a prerequisite to a unified team and running a quality center.” Regular staff meetings are one of the most effective ways for staff to exchange information, receive feedback and plan. Yet if these meetings are run poorly, they can be a waste of valuable time and a source of tension among your staff.
Decisions, Decisions
Before deciding to hold a meeting, it is important to ask yourself:
- What outcomes do I/we need to achieve?
- Is a meeting the best way to achieve that outcome?
- Is the meeting to share information, solve a problem, generate ideas, or to build skills?
It is critical to visualize what you hope to accomplish during the meeting. ...