Tips for Positive Team Meetings

Do you have a team meeting coming up and you want to make it as positive and productive as possible?

Read on for tips for a successful and positive team meeting.

I’ll write this in two parts:
one if you are the coach and one if you are the parents or family members

For the Coaches:

#1 Give an agenda for the meeting with a start and stop time

It helps everyone start out on the right foot if people know what to expect. When planning a team meeting give an agenda of everything you'd like to cover and share when you plan for the meeting to start and stop. Be realistic in your expectations of how much you'll cover and give yourself the time you'll really need to share.

BONUS-Send a proactive positive email

Before you even schedule a meeting, send a positive email out to your families. Say that you are thank for their commitment and you are so excited for the season. Don't tie it to the meeting just put some goodness out there.

#2 Tell who you expect to be at the meeting and what they need to be prepared with

When sharing the agenda tell who you expect at the meeting (one parent, whole family, players and parents). Let them know if you need them to bring anything (their calendars, money, questions, forms) and allow time in the agenda to take care of anything you need from them. If you will be deciding something big or laying down the law about something let them know ahead of time so they can prepare for it and be ready for it at the meeting.

#3 Start and end on a positive note

Throughout the meeting look to keep things positive. Say something nice to start. Tell why you are grateful for your team and community. Tell them you appreciate something they are doing. Point out a team highlight from the last practice or game and say why it made you proud of the players. Go through your agenda and end on a positive note. Hopefully the meeting goes well and you can end with a thank you and that will be enough. But be prepared with something more impactful if your team needs inspiration, motivation, or reassurance moving ahead. Leave them with a positive feeling.

#4 Don't call out people for undesired behaviors

Give emphasis on what you want (instead what went terrible) and how that meets your vision for the team. If you are revisiting any specific incidents in hopes to improve them for next time, there is no need to call out people specifically. We are together every weekend. We all know what happened and who did it. Speak to the facts of the incident so it is clear, address the expectations or behaviors you would like instead, and give ways to help people know how to do it better next time. Reinforce your team vision and how expectations can be better met next time that fit with the team concept. If a blame game starts--stop it. A team meeting is not the place to reprimand someone (even if they are at fault). Deal with the people in the incident individually but never shame someone on your team in front of everyone else. Focus on what you want moving forward.

#5 Stick to the topics on the agenda

Stay on topic. Yes, that means you Coach! If you or a parent starts to go off topic, catch it, write it down, and say you'll address it later or meet individually. Be thoughtful and considerate of everyone's time and get all the topics from the agenda in. If you have time at the end and if you want to, you can always stick around answering more questions. But, do yourself a favor, and give yourself a boundary to end. Tell them you can answer question until a certain time and then stop. The parents should already know how to communicate with you besides time meetings, but if they don't this is a great time to remind then when you can talk (for example-by email anytime and expect a response within 24 hours) and when you can't talk (for example-when you're warming up the players before a game). When you are clear and what you will communicate and when you communicate, everyone will feel better and more informed.

Plan to have a few meetings throughout the year to bring everyone together and give everyone a chance to be together as a team when there isn't a game.

For the Parents or Family Members:

1. Go into the meeting with an open mind
2. Hopefully your coach has given an agenda, so be prepared with whatever information they need from you (bring your calendar, ideas, an open mind)
3. Be positive if you bring anything to the conversation, don’t put down coaches or other families or players in front of everyone
4. If you have a related thought or concern that isn’t exactly part of the team meeting agenda, ask the coach for another time one-on-one to discuss or share it
5. Be respectful of time, make sure you stay within the time limit given, help encourage other parents to do so as well
6. Keep all the players and the team vision in mind. You are an advocate for your player, but you are also part of a team
7. Stick to the topics
8. Be respectful of your coach, let them be in charge
9. Say thank you to the coach before you leave the meeting