I’ve been talking a lot about the importance of your team lately, so you probably already know why I’m such a big advocate of them. Whether you have a team of 1 or 100, one thing remains the same: once you have a team, it’s time to have team meetings. 

You need to get on the same page with your team, check in on progress, and have accountability. Plus, team meetings can provide a time for people to actually dedicate time to work that gets pushed further down the list during the week, like gathering data and asking questions they have in their mental to-do list.

Of course, I know that just the thought of meetings might make you groan (been there), but there’s a reason I insist on having them! I’m a big believer in meetings. I am NOT a believer in having meetings just for the sake of having meetings. 

Meetings as a equalizer 

In the fitness industry, we don’t always have everyone all in one place at one time. Some instructors come in for early classes and leave by noon, others are in the studio all day, and some of us are all over the place! 

This staggered schedule makes meetings difficult, but it also makes them crucial to success. When everyone is in their own corner of the studio’s ecosystem, there can be a big disconnect between what’s happening at the top and what’s actually going on from day to day. 

It’s hard to grow in the same direction when you don’t have that communication. But how do you schedule meetings that bring everyone together without disrupting their productivity?  

Tailor it to your team

Rather than force everyone to make a special trip into the studio, we started hosting our meetings virtually. No matter where our attendees are — whether that be in-person, in their car, on their couch — they can participate in the meeting without having to rearrange their entire schedule. 

It may seem counter-intuitive, but scheduling more meetings can actually make them more productive as well. For example, I hold my executive team meetings once a week to discuss big-picture items, my team meetings once a month, and my company-wide meetings once a quarter. Each meeting event is geared towards the group’s specific goals, which helps us get the most out of every discussion (and consequently, end the meeting faster!).

The L10 System

Conducting a productive, efficient meeting is all about consistency. That is why all of our meetings are structured the same way every time, based on the L10 (Level-10) principles that we learned in our EOS system training. 

The result? Our people know what to expect, and they can walk away accomplished rather than getting lost in tangential issues. 

Nail down the timing

Before you even begin your meeting, make sure to put it on the calendar. We hold ours on the same day of the week at the same time, and this remains the same throughout the year. This helps us “anchor” our schedule around this meeting and ensures that everyone is available and prepared. 

Begin with a segue

The way you start your meeting sets the tone. To begin, we actually set a timer to help keep us aware of the time that has passed and prod us to focus on the important issues. 

Everyone comes into the meeting with a shared (and specific) agenda. This ensures that everyone knows what we expect to talk about, and they arrive with discussion points already in mind. 

Rather than jumping straight into the agenda, however, we always begin with a segue. For us, we go around the room and share one personal victory and one professional victory that has happened to us since the last meeting. This icebreaker isn’t just for fun: it helps everyone get into the productive mindset, and gives everyone a glimpse into their team members’ aspirations (especially those who may not work on the same shift). 

Tally your scorecard

Next, we go over our scorecard as a team. This scorecard shows what metrics you are tracking (active clients, new clients, conversion rates, membership sales, overall retention, etc.) After the scorecard is out on the table, everyone has a chance to discuss any that are under the projected goal. (Sometimes, a holiday weekend or an unexpected closure from a natural disaster may throw our numbers off.)

Don’t get bogged down here; we schedule 10-15 minutes for our scorecard review. 

Discuss the rocks

Our “rocks,” or initiative, are right from the pages of Traction, a book written by Gino Wickman. Each team member is accountable for their own initiative that they are working on for their quarter (for example, building the company Youtube channel). 

During this phase, each person announces if they are on or off track, and if they need any support or outside input to reach their goals. Again, this doesn’t have to be a drawn-out affair. We allot about 5 minutes for everyone to give an update. 

Share the issues 

Throughout the week, each member of our team has a task in Asana dedicated to our issues lists. Here, we document any and all issues that prevent us from working as well as we think we could be. It can be something simple (needing to resupply the office) or more long-term, like needing to fill a new position. 

Each person comes to the meeting with their issues list in hand, and from there, we decide the top 3 that we need to discuss via the IDS system (identify, discuss, solve). All members give their input to try and find a solution to the 3 primary issues at hand. (This may be the longest part of your meeting; that’s why we limit the docket to 3 issues at a time!)

Shout out your superstars

I personally believe that meetings shouldn’t only focus on what is going wrong. Before our meetings officially end, we each shout out someone else in the company that we think has really stepped up to the plate and done something exceptional in the company. People are more likely to respond when they feel their hard work is appreciated, so don’t forget to add some of that positive feedback into your meeting!

Close with action steps

Have you ever walked out of a meeting unsure of what to do next? I know I have! That’s why we always close with action steps. Here, we determine what everyone is individually responsible for in the next 7 days. Each of us walks out the door with a purpose, which is really what sets a good meeting apart. 

Making meetings matter

That’s just one way to design a structured, efficient, and effective meeting! While your meeting schedule may look a little different, it will likely have many of the same principles at work. At minimum, you will want to:

• Find a time and place that works for everyone, and stick to it
• Have everyone arrive at the meeting with an agenda and a list of issues to discuss
• Create quick, specific discussion points
• Create a consistent structure that your meeting will follow every time
• Close with action steps and specific goals for the next meeting

Of course, a good team meeting starts with a good team. If you haven’t already, check out Hiring Masterclass and see how your business can develop when it is in the best hands!