Leading Virtual Team Meetings
As a team lead or meeting facilitator, it is your responsibility to be a container for the discussion that takes place during the meeting. Here are some tips to help you become a great virtual meeting host, something many leaders are learning to do right now during the COVID-19 global crisis.
Set the Tone
Prior to the call, set the tone and expectations for your meeting. Email out the meeting agenda or simply the goal at hand. For example: we are meeting today to go over the most recent sales results and come up with new strategies.
Remind your staff to be present and avoid possible distractions. For example, turn off slack, other notifications during the meeting time and to have their cell away. I also like to remind my meeting attendees to be on time and to have your camera turned on. This allows space for hand gestures and facial expressions to be interrupted by the staff. Let your team know if they should have their mics off, unless speaking, which is standard virtual etiquette. Whatever the rules you create for your meeting, set the tone prior to the call in order for your staff to best prepare.
Don’t miss details. Think through what part of the world your attendees are coming from and make a note to pay attention to timezone.
An example of the “set-the-tone” email is as follows:
Hi Staff,
Tomorrow is the first of four Project Management Meetings. Here is the Zoom link to attend each one.
To get the most out of our time, please:
Be on time
Turn off your cell, slack, and any other notifications that may be distracting
Be prepared to have your camera on the whole call
Tomorrow, we will do introductions and lay the groundwork for this project. Come prepared to talk about:
What your role is
What you are hoping to accomplish in this project
How this season has affected/effected you both professionally and personally
See you all tomorrow,
Team Lead
When you begin the meeting give a quick tech overview: stay muted when in the background, raise your hand physically or use your hand, etc. Consider having a a co/host assist with the tech piece.
Provide Space for Connection
Start a few minutes late as people are popping in and build rapport with folks as they arrive. This is the space for watercooler talk; asking about the family and life working from home.
At the three minute mark, start with a short introduction:
Why are you all gathering, “hi there, welcome to the weekly staff meeting”.
Tech Tip | I always set my zoom calls to allow folks to join before I get there. Also, I pop in a few extra minutes early to get settled.
Make it fun! Have an icebreaker. An icebreaker is like a workout warm-up. Before diving into the heavy lifting of muscle building, talk about simpler and enjoyable topics that build team connection. One the team has that connection it will make the rest of the meeting’s task much smoother.
Example Icebreakers: what is something you are excited about today? Or, what is your body telling you?
Be Genuine
Awkward moments come up in virtual calls. The internet cuts out, people's faces freeze during tense moments, you can see up your VP’s nose and your dog might be going crazy in the background. As a facilitator, although the space for these moments to happen and play themselves out. Be able to discern when to call them out, possibly jokingly, “Hi Joe, did you get a new dog?” and when to leave them alone, you don’t want too many disruptions.
Tech Tip | On Zoom you can mute everyone’s mic at once if the background noise gets out of hand.
Stay Engaged
Stand if you can. Lead stretches or playful snaps/claps after someone shares good ideas.
Take breaks if over 90 minutes. For example: “let’s take 5 minutes for a bio break; get a glass of water, stretch...we will start again at ____”.
Consider assigning roles to make facilitation easier and to spread the weight. Roles could include and are not limited to: a timekeeper, a notetaker, someone to read the meeting goal, someone to recap action steps.
Listen to what your team is saying. Remember you are the facilitator and need to be able to intervene and get everyone back on track when needed. Also, mirroring or repeating your team will help you understand what they are saying and remind the other you are listening well.
Keep Others Engaged
Tech Tip | Encourage use of the chat box. Whenever I ask the team a question aloud, I copy it from my agenda template and paste in in the chat box for “everyone” to see.
Tech Tip | Break out sessions are a manual setting on zoom and great for larger teams. As a host, you can break up everyone into smaller pod meetings to connect. There are so many excellent uses for this.
Allow for silence and don’t fret if no one answers your questions right away. Have you heard of the 13 second rule? After 13 seconds passes someone will speak and if not, call people out, “Jason, what are your thoughts around this?”
Tech Tip | Use other tools such as miro.com for live sticky noting.
End Well
Have everyone share their main takeaway and/or recap their action steps for week.
Call out briefly what you saw and note the next time ya’ll are meeting.
Never go over time! In fact, plan to release everyone 5-10 minutes early for breathing room for their next meeting and if lingering questions and comments arise.
Do Something Out of The Ordinary
What to go above and beyond in virtual team connection? Mail your team a specialty beer or chocolate and do happy hour together!
Play music. Consider playing a song during the break or as folks are signing in. Choose a song that is appropriate, uplifting and with a length that fits your intent.
Lastly, be kind to yourself and keep practicing. Being a great facilitator doesn’t happen overnight and leading a team virtually can present its own challenges. What I have seen is trial and error being the greatest learning tool there is.
