When leading online meetings, we can easily think that somehow it should be easy and we “should” be able to do it on our own. Although you can easily send a link to join a meeting, actually hosting, designing and facilitating an online meeting takes a lot of effort and requires a team in order to do it well. Join me this week as I highlight three steps to take in order to garner support from your team to successfully host your next online meeting.
Make a list
Consider all of the details and tasks needed in order to host the online meeting. Include specific items, such as deciding the purpose, creating the link, recording the meeting, taking notes, etc. If you need some ideas, check out my Effective Meeting Checklist, particularly #5 on preparing logistics for the meeting. Once you make a list for one meeting, use that list as your guide for future meetings. While each meeting will likely be slightly different, the primary details, tasks and needs will remain consistent.
Consider roles
Once you have made the list, you can consider which members of your team may be a good fit to play those roles and implement those aspects of your online meeting. Think about what skills your team members have as well as the things they particularly enjoy doing. While you may have to “rock, paper scissors” who is the one responsible for meeting notes, developing proposed roles can help you clarify who can be responsible for which aspects of the meeting. When you consider roles, you can also identify potential “gaps” in roles and recruit others to participate. For instance, if you don’t have anyone on your immediate team who is skilled with IT support, you may need to reach out to someone else to provide that support. Also, you may have coalition leaders and volunteers who have expertise in areas and would like to actively participate in supporting the online meeting.
Ask for support
Once you have drafted the list of everything you need to do and the potential roles that others can play, take time to ask and discuss these roles with your team. Depending upon your structure, you may combine the first two steps with this step as part of a group discussion or you may need to develop a draft and then discuss with your team. The most important part of this step is to be clear about what you need and to garner support in order to meet those needs. When asking for support from your team, you may also identify other needs you had not yet considered as well as other people who may be able to meet those needs.
So what about you? What kinds of support have you found most helpful in facilitating online meetings?
As you plan your next online meeting, check out my free resource, How to Lead Your Best Online Meeting Yet.
