Articles on: Meetings

Designing & Facilitating Great Meetings

Great meetings are absolutely essential to organizational alignment and progress. Meetings are where we learn and share information and updates; where we engage the diverse perspectives of our colleagues; and, where we make the decisions that propel organizational action.

The 5 Essential Ingredients

There are 5 essential ingredients to a great meeting:

Purpose
Agenda
Participants
Facilitation
Results

Let's take a closer look at each of these.

Meeting Purpose

A meeting needs a purpose statement. In a sentence or two, why are we gathering? If it's a weekly team meeting, that purpose may be fairly standard: To share progress on team work and identify any roadblocks. If it's a monthly cross-functional Table Meeting, the purpose may be more tailored to a particular theme or topic: To review results of our annual community survey and draft potential strategic responses.

Tip: The Purpose Statement does not need to address every item on the agenda (group check-in, etc.); rather it can speak to the primary substantive item(s) you plan to discuss.

Meeting Agenda

Agendas are thoughtful containers for effective group work. A well-designed agenda is a gift to the Team/Table's participants; it assures them that someone has thought, in advance, about how to address the topics at hand, how to include everyone in the discussion, and how long things will take. Like a framed canvas, agendas are the structure that allow people to be fluid and creative together.

Tip: Identify what will be happening in each agenda topic. For instance: Presentation with Q&A, or Round Robin Reaction Round, or Brainstorm & Synthesis to Top 3 Options. This way people know what to expect and how to show up to each topic.

Tip: Always identify clearly when you expect the group to make a decision or recommendation as part of an agenda topic. Decision-making requires people's full attention; people don't like to be caught off guard by it.

Tip: Always send the agenda out in advance (at least 24 hours, preferably 48-72 hours). And, always review the agenda out loud at the beginning of the meeting. These two steps ensure that people are grounded in the purpose of the meeting and the topics they are expected to engage in.

Meeting Participants

It's important to have the right people in attendance for each agenda topic. Meetings are much less effective when participants sense that they don't have enough information or clear authority to address a topic effectively.

Tip: Invite special guests to Team/Table meetings to share their knowledge with the group as it's getting ready to address a complex issue. Guests can attend just for a given topic and its allotted time on your agenda.

Meeting Facilitation

Facilitators bring the agenda to life. They ground people in meeting purpose and process. They watch for everyone's engagement. They adapt in real time if a topic needs more time. In other words, facilitation is a skillset!

The good news is that we can all become good facilitators; it just takes commitment and lots of practice.

Tip: Make sure, as the facilitator, that you reground in the meeting purpose and agenda topics before the meeting. You don't want to show up cold. You are the group's guide through the meeting!

Tip: Pay attention to who is speaking a lot and who is not. Use gentle engagement prompts like, "Let's hear from folks we have not heard from yet" or "James, we haven't heard from you yet I don't think, is anything coming up for you?"

Tools to Support Facilitation:

Learn about Capture Board →

Learn about Group Voting →

Meeting Results

A great meeting closes with a clear capture of all of its results. The meeting notes. The decisions and recommendations made during the meeting. The commitments individual participants made to move the work forward. JustOrg Design makes capturing and sharing these meeting results simple.

Tip: Save time at the end of each meeting to review the meeting's results out loud: decisions, recommendations, and commitments. Check for clarity with the group.

Tip: Add an agenda topic at the beginning of each Team/Table meeting to review open Commitments. This adds an element of accountability for group participants. You can change the target date on open Commitments if individuals report needing more time.

After the Meeting:

Learn how to use Email Results Now → (See the "Sending Meeting Results" section to learn how to send a clean summary to all attendees)

Updated on: 05/01/2026

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