Annual Meetings can do more
Lead a strategy session that builds clarity & confidence.
If it feels hard to lead right now, you’re not alone. There’s a lot going on at the moment, and your team needs you to rise above it all and display confidence and clarity. This is why leading an annual meeting this year might be harder than in the past. But it doesn’t have to be harder. Disruption is an opportunity to grab new opportunities and move to the forefront in your space. Let’s have fun leading with creativity and courage!
This could be your best Annual Meeting yet! These 4 principles set the stage for success.
Create Space
Make sure the right people have a seat at the table. Review your attendee list and add 1 or 2 new perspectives that you’re not used to hearing. Showing your curiosity by including some new faces will convey that you’re not interested in business as usual.
Be human and check in with people. September is back-to-school season for many employees, which means they could be going through some life transitions. Regardless of their stage of life, be intentional about connecting people to each other on a human level. They’ll appreciate that you prioritized relationships during this important meeting. Plus, helping everyone see each other outside of work roles will build empathy and foster team cohesion throughout the discussions to come.
Be ready to listen. Prepare a few questions that will help you identify potential blind spots. Find out what is top of mind, and perhaps other senior leaders can react in helpful ways. This is a great time to allow your leadership to shine.
2. Start with the end in mind
Have a clear goal. This sounds obvious, but make it unmistakably clear what you expect to accomplish. Is there an ‘elephant in the room’ that you plan to discuss, or a major theme or problem that will drive the focus of the next year? Let folks know what success for the meeting looks like. Use our Strategy Scorecard as a starting point. Before the meeting, have your team score 5 key performance areas and plan to discuss pain points that need attention. Goals should be about more than numbers. Measurable goals are helpful, but don’t answer what or how.
Work toward a written report-out or action plan. Be sure to capture important discussion points, such as risks and problems to come back to. Include a notetaker from outside the senior team, so all senior leaders can contribute without the burden of recording the discussion rather than being part of it. A written framework will keep everyone focused on outcomes and prevent you from wrapping up the meeting without everyone knowing their marching orders.
Delegate and communicate next steps. When will these topics be revisited by the group? What decisions need to be made after the meeting, and when might they be expected? The worst thing to do is lose momentum by allowing issues to hang in limbo. Your credibility may be in jeopardy if people don’t believe or don’t understand what action comes next. That includes ensuring there is a system of accountability for monitoring and troubleshooting. Aim to delegate and assist with obstacles - not be the person figuring out details or carrying out implementation.
3. Be Strategic
Be customer-centered. Take an objective look at where you are now and focus on where things need to go in the future - through the lens of current and future customers. What audiences will lead to growth? What do they need? Do you have the information you need to understand and embrace future opportunities? (See our Market Research Executive Brief for helpful prompts)
Be employee-focused. To deliver what customers need, what do your employees need? What motivates your team and what makes your company the best place for them to be? What systems and processes need to work better, so employees have what they need?
Avoid vague objectives that aren’t instructive enough to guide decisions and action. Make a plan with enough meat on the bones. A good strategy answers: “what to do”, “how to do it”, and “why this.” A detailed ‘how to’ should come later from the assigned teams, but a strategic answer to ‘how in the world can we do that’ should be discussed in the meeting or reported back to the group as a follow-up.
4. Have Fun
Well-placed comic relief helps everyone stay refreshed, emotionally regulated, and creative throughout activities that carry a heavy cognitive load. Now is the time to be optimistic, creative, and curious. If envisioning your future isn’t fun, you may need more than an annual meeting. You may need to double-down on a new strategy that’s inspiring and moving your organization in a new direction. If you’re stressed about running your annual meeting, consider delegating the facilitation to someone else. This way you can fully participate in the reflection and discussion, instead of moderating it. Putting someone else in the front of the room may also make it easier for team members to speak candidly. You probably know which team members are good at breaking the ice and bringing the fun. Keep it fun and refreshing.
Final Thoughts
A one-day session is a good booster for refining the focus, defining new opportunities, and getting everyone back on the same page. The key thing to know is that strategic innovation is an ongoing process that involves Insights, Ideas, Increments, and Impact. We can help at any point in this journey.
Please reach out if you’d like help with your annual meeting. We can gather or analyze information in advance, plan and facilitate your session, or help leaders convert the meeting results into strategic implementation plans. www.alignltd.com/connect.