Actively suggest and maintain meeting structures
If you actively suggest and maintain clear structures for when you meet up, you increase efficiency.
Shared routines for setting agendas, checking in/out, and documenting decisions and next steps will reduce frustration and misunderstanding.
You create better coordination among you when all members of the team feel invited to participate.
(See exercise: Plan meetings proactively)
Consider different formats for your meetings?
Not all meetings benefit from the same format. Reflection on how to vary between different formats can sometimes help make collaboration more inclusive, effective and energized.
Different formats support different kinds of work:
- When is hybrid participation relevant?
- When can online or asynchronous work be preferred for preparation work or writing?
- Do shorter meetings work well for decisions or problem‑solving?
- How might quiet and longer working sessions support concentrated and parallel work?
(See exercise: Talk about formats, output & preferences)
Keep a clear overview of tasks and responsibilities
Having a shared overview of what needs to be done — and who is responsible for what — is key to effective group work.
- Make tasks visible: List all tasks, both big and small.
- Match tasks with strengths and interests: Consider skills, interests, and workloads when assigning tasks.
- Clarify responsibility: For all tasks, be clear about who is responsible, what the outcome is, and when it is due.
- Use shared tools: Maintain the task overview in a format everyone can access and update.
- Revisit and adjust: Projects change over time. Review and redistribute work if needed.
(See exercise: Clear task overview to match tasks)
Exercises
Remember to plan all three phases of your meetings:
- Before:
Prepare and set an agenda (what is focus / priority) - During:
Align focus, priorities, and timing (e.g. when are we done? check-in/check-out?) - End of / after:
Summarise and follow up (Key points, next steps, who/what/when?
What are your preferences for different meeting formats and specific outputs from meetings:
- What formats do each of you prefer?
- When are different formats relevant for different tasks?
- Agree on 2–3 formats you will use/try out – in relation to the purpose of your meetings
Create a list of all project tasks
(maybe use Miro, Padlet, google forms or other)
Everyone marks anonymously which tasks they:
- Would love to do
- Can do
- Prefer to avoid
Strive to assign tasks based on the collected input