Avoid The #1 Meeting Mistake I Made As A Leader
Even the Best Players Need Coaches
I was not going to be labeled a “micromanager” or waste peoples time. If the leadership team was performing, I decided not to waste their time, or mine, with meetings. Instead, I put all this energy towards the areas that needed the most help and the “A Players” would be able to handle things on their own.
In all fairness to my coach, I was warned it wouldn’t work. For whatever reason, it didn’t resonate with me. It wasn’t until I read about Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan working together, and how they met regularly. It triggered something in me and I thought:
“If the greatest basketball player ever needed to meet with his coach, why wouldn’t I need to meet with our top players?”
I thought my logic was sound but it was actually the opposite. I was making a big mistake.
The Importance of Meeting with Your Top Players
If I’m not meeting with our A Players, who am I meeting with? Answer: Non A-Players. I’m investing my time with team members that are underperforming and ignoring the key players that are driving the company.
It worked for a little while. A Players will get the job done for as long as they can without direction and support. They will ask brief questions and keep going until they can’t any more. Until they are frustrated and annoyed that they, despite being A Players, are being ignored. By not meeting with them, I was hurting our best players, everyone around them, and the company. I needed to make a change.
Consistent Meeting Rhythms are Key
Once I realized my mistake I acted quickly to make a change. Consistent meetings (we call them huddles) with A Players. These now take place once a week with the following agenda:
How are you doing?
Did anything happen last week we need to discuss?
What are you working on this week? How can I help?
There are weeks when this meeting takes 10-15 minutes and weeks where it’s a 30-45 meeting. It’s not about me, it’s about them. If they don’t need me for anything, and I have nothing to review, it’s short and don’t waste time. If there are more pressing matters, they are brought up and we move forward.
It’s easy to put off meetings, especially with the people that are performing. Learn from my mistake and keep these on your weekly agenda to make sure you’re doing everything you can to support the players that deserve it most.