Team alignment meeting: 7 tips to run it well

A team alignment meeting reviews goals and responsibilities so that each person knows what they deliver and how their work connects to the company’s results. Run with a method, it cuts rework and keeps effort and resources from scattering.

These 7 tips show how to plan, run and close that meeting. For the full format of a productive meeting, see how to run a productive meeting step by stepopens in a new tab.

Also watch the video with 5 tips for productive meetings (in Portuguese):

Tip 1: Planning ahead

There is no productive work meeting without planning, especially when the goal is to align the team.

Prepare an outline with every point to discuss, your own view and the data that backs up what you say. Write an agenda, using our post on how to build a meeting agenda as a guide, and share it with attendees so they arrive prepared.

Tip 2: Number of attendees

Inviting too many people hurts the meeting. Many minds with different ways of thinking can disrupt the discussion and get in the way of aligning the team.

Invite only the people needed for the discussion who can contribute good ideas on the topic. With fewer people, the meeting gets more done.

Tip 3: Time management

Every alignment meeting plan needs to consider time managementopens in a new tab.

Every meeting needs a start time and an end time. Get to the point, be objective and ask the same of other attendees in their remarks and comments.

Tip 4: Indicators and goals

Reviewing performance indicators and goalsopens in a new tab is the core of an alignment meeting. It lets each employee see whether their effort is on the right track toward the proposed result.

The review also helps adjust goals to the team’s reality, and with the right indicators you can measure progress more precisely. To run this part of the meeting, see our post on goal meetings.

Tip 5: Room for questions

During the meeting, questions often come up about what was presented and about next steps. Set aside time in the outline for questions and answers.

The goal is to make sure everyone understood the goals, the indicators and each person’s responsibilities. That prevents mistakes and actions that stray from what was agreed.

Tip 6: Final recap

Before closing, recap everything that was covered. List what was decided in topics and review it with attendees.

This review ensures everyone has the same understanding of the path ahead. To record the decisions, see our post on how to write meeting minutes.

Tip 7: Management software

Technology helps with meeting management. Good software lets you build the calendar, create agendas, invite attendees, assign tasks and write minutes.

With it, you also reach the indicators and charts that show results more clearly, and alignment gets more efficient. To compare options, see our post on meeting software.

To go beyond alignment, see also our post on the monthly results meeting.

How to run the routine meeting in Stratws

In the routine management and continuous improvement offering of Stratws, the routine meeting arrives with agenda, documents and attendees in one place. The invitation tracks attendance confirmation, and the minutes come out ready, with decisions, owners and deadlines.

Each decision becomes an action plan with tasks and owners, which each person follows in My Panel. The integration with Google Calendar and Outlook keeps the team’s calendar up to date.