Jumping into goal-setting without a clear understanding of the present sets the stage for misalignment and missed opportunities. In this episode, we’ll walk you through part two of the third phase in our MeetingMakers Framework: Aligning, focused on the present. We discuss the importance of aligning on internal and external realities to set a foundation for effective strategic planning and achieving your goals.

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EPISODE RESOURCES:
SLOR Analysis SessionLab Agenda
SLOR Analysis Template Package
Context Map Template from The Grove

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Written by Lauren Green and produced by Caitlin Murray.

When teams design a path forward, reflection on the past is a critical step that is often missed. In this episode of This Meeting Sucks, we’re going to walk you through part one of the third phase in our MeetingMakers Framework: Aligning, focused on the past. We’ll discuss the importance of looking back before moving forward and take you through our History Map agenda template.

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EPISODE RESOURCES:
History Map SessionLab Agenda
History Map Template Package
TMS S2E10: Debrief Meetings (podcast episode)
Rick Maurer's Beyond the Wall of Resistance (book)
CFO Bookshelf: Beyond the Wall of Resistance with Rick Maurer (podcast episode)
Graphic History Template from The Grove

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Written by Lauren Green and produced by Caitlin Murray.

Trust is the foundation of a healthy team, and without it, teams lack the tools for constructive conflict, commitment to goals, mutual accountability, and major results. In this episode of This Meeting Sucks, we’re going to walk you through the second phase in our MeetingMakers Framework: Building Trust. Trust doesn’t just happen. Like any relationship, you have to cultivate trust—a trusting team is one that thrives in the face of an obstacle.

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EPISODE RESOURCES:
Work Styles and Team Profile SessionLab Agenda
Work Styles and Team Profile Template Package
Jan Keck’s Icemelters (book)
Help Your Meetings Work I—Verbal Tools (S3E4)
Our blogs on energizers

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Written by Lauren Green and produced by Caitlin Murray.

Whether you're a new team working together, an existing team looking for a reset or just unsure about where a project is headed, it's important to get everyone on the same page. In this episode, we’re going to walk you through the first phase in our MeetingMakers Framework: Initiating, which includes Project Kick-Offs and Team Charters. With these meetings, you can lay the groundwork for success, ensuring everyone is on the same page and ready to tackle whatever comes their way.

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EPISODE RESOURCES:
Project Kick-off and Team Charter SessionLab Agenda
Project Kick-off and Team Charter Template Package

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Written by Lauren Green and produced by Caitlin Murray.

Welcome to Season 4, MeetingMakers! This season is all about high-performing teams and how you can build your way to high performance through meetings. We’ve codified a suite of agendas and companion templates you can modify and use with your team. This episode introduces you to the MeetingMakers Framework and walks you through the coming season.

Read along with the episode on YouTube.

EPISODE RESOURCES:
TMS Season 1: Just-in-Time Meeting Skills
QUIZ: Where is my team?
Katzenbach and Smith's The Wisdom of Teams (book)
Chris McGoff's The Primes (book)

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Written by Lauren Green and produced by Caitlin Murray.

No matter your skill at leading meetings, there are some occasions when hiring a facilitator is in your best interest. This episode goes over considerations to help you recognize when it’s time to bring in a third-party facilitator and gives you a guide of questions to consider when searching for the right person to lead your meeting.

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EPISODE RESOURCES:
Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions (book)
Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases (book)
Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them (book)
MAFN Find-A-Facilitator (database)

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Written by Lauren Green and produced by Caitlin Murray.

Organization leaders and meeting sponsors carry a large influence on the meetings they attend, and how they show up can affect the group as a whole and the success of a session. This episode provides guidance for what leaders should be doing before, during, and after a meeting to help achieve outcomes and harness the wisdom of their team.

👉 Download the visual summary notes for this episode.

EPISODE RESOURCES:
Season 1: Just-in-Time Meeting Skills (podcast)
MeetingMakers Academy (webpage)
S1E4: Outline Your Meeting (podcast episode)
S2E9: Make It a Meeting, Not a Lecture (podcast episode)
S3E5: Help Your Meetings Work I—Verbal Tools (podcast episode)
Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg PhD (*book)

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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Written by Lauren Green and produced by Caitlin Murray.

Whether your team needs help remembering information or navigating the complexities of virtual meetings, you can take on a meeting support role to level up the effectiveness of your team’s meeting. In this episode, Lauren breaks down the need for meeting notes and tips for taking them effectively, and guest Heather Martinez discusses the rold of tech host.

👉 Download the visual summary notes for this episode.

EPISODE RESOURCES:
Understanding Visual Notetaking (video)
Dancing with Markers (website)
Start Your Visual Notetaking Journey (resource)
Let’s Letter Together (website)
Tech Host Academy (online course)
How to E3 Your Online Meetings (video)
Top 5 Vitals for Being a Successful Tech Host (video and blog)

Heather Leavitt Martinez is a practical mix of supporting others and modeling the way. Rooted in Appreciative Inquiry (AI), everything Heather does from training and facilitation to tech hosting is based in AI. She is a visual practitioner by trade, but quickly turned virtual facilitator at the start of the pandemic and brought many along with her. Heather is the director of Tech Host Academy, senior product manager at Kadabra, and is currently working with the Center of Appreciative Inquiry to deliver her work as a visual facilitator and tech host.

Support the show

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Written by Lauren Green and produced by Caitlin Murray.