Ah, the meeting - a universal symbol of Corporate America that we love to hate.  But team meetings serve a variety of purposes, including communicating new goals and information, building teamwork, motivating co-workers, and providing a forum to resolve issues.  If your group never gets together as a team, people might feel isolated and uninformed and problem issues may fester because there is no opportunity to clear the air.  However, you don’t want to have meetings just for the sake of having meetings either.  Here are some dos and don’ts for managing effective meetings:

• DO allow attendees to have a say in determining the agenda.
• DO distribute the agenda ahead of time and list the specific issues to be discussed.
• DO plan something fun every now and then – like bringing in lunch or donuts.
• DO ask attendees to contribute to the meeting by providing a status for their areas.
• DO keep the tone of the discussion open and positive.
• DO encourage team members to freely voice their concerns, to listen and to help one another. 
• DO maintain a big picture perspective and calmly guide the group toward a consensus or solution.
• DO consider your team’s time pressures and keep the meeting to an hour.
• DON’T have meetings too often – once a week should be the maximum.
• DON’T allow attendees to interrupt each other or monopolize the discussion with their own opinions.
• DON’T allow the discussion to wander off topic for too long.