The Art of the Meeting

The Nonprofit Planner Co. 6+4 System

6 Segment: ADMINISTRATION

Frequency: ONGOING

Task: TEAM MEETING (sticker available)

We’ve got a team meeting tomorrow, kicking off a pretty cool project at our nonprofit. As team leader, it’s my job to inspire. I want all my team members to rally around the project goal, to feel like they are part of something intentional, and to know that I value their time.


Think of a team as a mini-community. It should have all the markings of community: cohesiveness yet diversity, purpose, unifying elements, and social norms. The best functioning communities share a common point of view. They have access to resources. They have a culture. They have leadership, whether it is distributed or consolidated. They respect and support their members. They expect something of their members. Same for teams.


Team meetings have a clear purpose. People know why they are there and they come ready to contribute. The person who called the team meeting has prepared in advance - and communicated with the attendees. The meeting itself is just a part of the process.


The leader owes it to the team to prepare for the meeting. It is not only required for efficiency and productivity - it shows respect and appreciation.

Here’s a few of the things I did to plan and prepare for tomorrow’s team meeting:


  1. Communicated well in advance the purpose of the meeting to the team members and their respective managers

  2. Sent a calendar invite well in advance

  3. Secured the space and made arrangements for technology needs

  4. Assigned preparatory work to all participants to create a common understanding of the topic

  5. Planned for a good balance of informing or teaching and discussion and input.

  6. Created an agenda that included BOTH the project objectives AND the specific meeting objectives.

    1. Set time markers for each item on the agenda.

    2. Kept the agenda text short and easy to read: topics / headlines only

    3. Listed the expected meeting outcomes on the agenda

    4. Ensured adequate time for open discussion and questions

  7. Sent agenda in advance

  8. Decided in advance whether I’d share handouts and info in print, digitally, on-screen or via a whiteboard or Post-It easel paper

  9. Gathered necessary office supplies

  10. Sent topical teasers (texts, emails, Asana notes) between the day the calendar invite went out and the date of the meeting itself to sustain excitement and momentum (s/o to Priya Parker and her awesome book The Art of Gathering. Must read!)


This being the first meeting of our project team, we’ll spend a few minutes setting norms during the meeting.  I’ll ensure the team addresses the following, as well as any other norms team members want to set”

  1. Set a reasonable amount of time for future meeting preparation (determine how much time people have for this and plan future meetings accordingly)

  2. Establish remote vs in person expectations.

  3. Decide what to do if someone can’t make a future meeting. Will we reschedule?

  4. How will we take notes? Will one person do it? Do we share responsibility? (Follow organizational policy on whether AI note-taking is allowed.)

  5. What norms will we set regarding laptops and devices open at the meeting? Is that okay to be typing? Okay just for note-taking? Not okay - no devices allowed?

  6. Will we need to take breaks during the meeting for device check-ins?

  7. Set timeline for future all-team gatherings.

  8. Agree on the level of confidentiality required

Some groups also like to set norms for how you’ll collectively manage the discussion portions of the meeting. Who gets to talk when, time limits, tone, listening expectations, respect, etc. Knowing my team members, we should already share an understanding of these discussion norms, but we’ll see what the team says. Might be worth writing it down again, if they want.


I’m excited.

I’m prepared.

I’ve heard from each team member and they each seem ready.

I’ve got the stuff.

(Spoiler: I’ve got snacks. Not required, but always appreciated.)


I’ll let you know how it goes.


In the meantime, put your own “team meetings” on your calendar and respect them as much as you would a donor meeting or a board meeting. Set aside time to prepare for them, and time to do the requisite follow-up after the meeting. As a rule of thumb, if I have a 90 minute meeting, I’ll spend 3 hours preparing for it. And that assumes I have full command of the material.


Most of all, remember that the point of a meeting is to come together with other members of your community. This is another point of connection. It is a terrific opportunity to build culture and relationships even while you are doing the mission-centric work or the organization.


Have fun, enjoy each other, respect each other’s time. And do the work.



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