Most meetings are inherently boring.
That’s why many leaders don’t want to have them, and many team members don’t want to attend them.
A great meeting can be an accelerant for your team – keeping everyone on the same page, building team culture, and more.
In his book, Death by Meeting, one of my favorite authors, Patrick Lencioni, “focuses on a cure for the most painful yet underestimated problem in modern business: bad meetings.”
Let’s focus on the two types of meetings that we Coach our Clients to implement immediately.
- Daily Check In
- Weekly Tactical
The Daily Check In
Prior to real estate, I ran a large private restaurant group. If you’ve ever spent any time in restaurants or hospitality, you’re familiar with the Daily Check In, just by a different name.
Jumpstarts, Alley Rallies, and Pre-Open Huddles are all ways that staff for that shift gets on the same page quickly. Today’s specials, contests, key reservations, etc. Everyone’s on the same page. In the absence of this meeting, confusion ensues. From the confusion comes errors and inefficiencies. The Jump Start (as we called it) was my favorite meeting of the day.
Running a real estate team is no different. There’s a simple cadence to the Daily Check In. It’s 5-7 minutes, every business day. Some teams do it in person. Other teams do it as a phone call or video chat. It MUST be kept to 5-7 minutes. When conducting them in person, one handy trick is to have the meeting standing up. When everyone stands, the meeting moves quickly.
There are 3 topics to cover in The Daily Check In:
- Here are my top priorities for the day.
- Here’s what I need from you (this may be directed at a specific person).
- Does anyone need anything from me?
The Leader goes first. Then the same framework cascades through the team.
As Lencioni points out:
It provides a quick forum for ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks on a given day and that no one steps on anyone else’s toes. Just as important… it eliminates the need for unnecessary email chains.
The Weekly Tactical Meeting
Also commonly known as the Team Meeting, The Weekly Tactical Meeting is a 45-60 minute weekly (or sometimes bi-weekly) meeting with two key points of focus.
- Progress Review
- Real Time Agenda
At Middleton Elite Coaching, we help our Clients design and implement plans around The 4Ps:
— RELATED: The 4Ps
Progress Review
The Progress Review section of the meeting is a 5-15 minute section examining your progress toward the goals of the 4Ps. This might include things like active listings, active buyers, current under contract, closed properties this month/quarter/year, progress on a marketing project, a client event, the status of new candidates for the team, progress one is making on their health or personal finances. During this, ask yourself:
Where are we on this? What are our gaps? Resist the urge to have people explain (at least for now) why they think the gaps are happening.
Now, to the Real Time Agenda.
Ideally, each Team Member will have come to the meeting with the info needed for the Progress Review. Once that segment is done, the Team now collectively decides the most pressing issues to discuss for the remaining 30-45 minutes. Lencioni refers to this as disciplined spontaneity. Most importantly, this type of structure ensures that the topics discussed are timely, pertinent, and relevant. This format also encourages Team Members to show up prepared, ready to participate, and to play a part in the effectiveness of the meeting.
Great meetings are made by great participants.
A word of caution. This meeting is not the place for discussing long-term strategies. For instance: ideas around a shiny new thing, thoughts about what competitors are doing, or what we’re going to do for something that is 6+ months from now. Those are all topics for the Monthly Strategic Meeting. You can learn more about that, and other types of meetings, from your MEC Coach, and by reading Lencioni’s book, Death by Meeting.
The Wrap Up
All great meetings leave the participants feeling educated, motivated, and/or inspired. We also think a little humor goes a long way. Here are some of our favorite examples:
Are you having communication challenges?
Check out It’s Not About the Nail
Are you looking to remind people to stay positive?
Check out Kid President’s Pep Talk.
If you’re looking to inspire (and you love music) then you must watch Kodi Lee perform Leon Russell’s Song for You on America’s Got Talent. Side note, this is the best song ever written. Also worth noting, Michael Buble’s cover of the tune is the best version ever. Listen to a live version here. You’re welcome! 🙂
As the Leader, you are the conductor of the orchestra. You don’t have to play every instrument. In fact, that’s tiring. Create the framework. Lean in on your people. Orchestrate great meetings.
Be Elite!
Bill
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