12: Close & Appreciate

Congratulations! You’ve just run an effective and productive meeting. Make sure you end it on a high note. Take the time to officially close the meeting and thank your attendees for their participation, input, and collaboration. Time is our most valuable resource; be sure to show your appreciation to the people who gave you their time. Reinforce that you value their contributions.

Bonus Tip: If you want to make sure you are leading effective meetings, take five minutes at the end of your meeting to do a quick evaluation. Try doing a quick plus/delta with your participants. Simply ask the attendees:

• Plus: What worked well with this meeting?

• Delta: What could we do differently next time to make it even better?

Getting input and feedback from your meeting participants helps you ensure your meetings are effective and engages participants in future meeting design.

The ability to lead effective meetings from wherever one sits is an indispensable leadership skill in every industry. It’s time to stop throwing away time and money and learn how to lead meetings that matter.

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