What are managers’ meetings?

A manager meeting is a gathering of company leadership to discuss workplace challenges, goals and operations and potentially make decisions and plan action steps. Management meetings typically follow an agenda to ensure the time is used effectively.

What is the purpose of a manager meeting?

Different types of meetings for managers may have various purposes or goals. Some examples of meeting objectives include:

• Addressing a particular challenge, such as high turnover rates or low profits
• Explaining product line changes, mergers and other major company changes
• Developing company growth plans
• Providing department updates for leadership
• Evaluating project outcomes
• Reviewing customer insights and making strategic plans
• Setting company-wide or departmental goals
• Collaborating across teams for general improvement
• Reviewing company finances

How to organize a manager meeting

Extensive preparation may help you conduct your meeting efficiently and maximize the results. Consider the steps below:

1. Determine a purpose

A clear purpose and objective for the meeting can help ensure it’s beneficial to the organization. For example, you might intend to find solutions for a new challenge, set business metrics, discuss changes to your products or plan for company improvements.

2. Decide who will attend

The attendee list often depends on the purpose of the meeting. Some management meetings might include all leadership team members. You might hold a senior leadership team with only the department heads.

A smaller, focused meeting guest list may increase productivity, potentially giving participants more time to share and discuss their ideas.

3. Set the meeting details

Scheduling a manager meeting requires considering multiple schedules. If the meeting is recurring, setting it on a certain day and time each week or month may help reduce scheduling conflicts.

For in-person meetings, choose the location based on the group size. You might schedule a virtual meeting to reduce travel time if your company has multiple locations or remote employees.

You may need to plan for accommodations before the meeting. This might include presentation technology and video conferencing software.

4. Create an agenda

Having a concise manager meeting agenda can help focus the discussion. They can provide space for others to suggest additional topics of information that relate to the overall meeting goal so your conversations stay focused yet encourage collaborative brainstorming.

5. Identify preparation activities for the participants

Management meetings may require the participants to bring data or prepare ideas to maximize the meeting time. For instance, each department head might need to supply budget information or details about recent projects.

Alert the participants about these preparation activities in advance. Consider how much time the prep work should take and give them adequate lead time to ensure they’re prepared.

6. Send necessary materials in advance

You might have slides, data or other materials you plan to cover in the meeting. Sending those documents to participants in advance helps ensure they review them. You may save time in your meeting if everyone is familiar with the materials before the discussion begins.

Tips for running an effective manager meeting

The following tips can help you run meaningful, efficient managers‘ meetings:

• Start the meeting on time: Respect your employees’ schedules and maximize the meeting time for actionable outcomes.
• Encourage transparent discussion: By communicating clearly, you may encourage other participants to share their thoughts openly and directly. Managers often balance many responsibilities, so covering the important topics quickly can help you utilize the meeting time.
• Establish accountability: Delegating tasks and determining a deadline can help guide the management team.
• Provide a brief meeting summary: A short recap detailing action items may serve as a reminder for those tasks without taking extra time away from managers.
• Follow up individually when needed: This ensures each participant has the information that applies to them.
• Ask for feedback about the meetings: The participants might offer insight into how future meetings can be better structured. Improving your manager meetings can help you get better results and increase productivity.

Related: A Guide to Managing Employees

Frequently asked questions about manager meetings

How long do manager meetings last?

You can expect a manager meeting to last between 30 minutes and one hour. However, the event may last longer when you’re discussing complex topics. You might also hold longer meetings if the managers gather infrequently or have more topics to discuss.

How can you invite participants to managers’ meetings?

Consider the communication tools your team uses regularly. You can send an email invitation or an online calendar event. Appointment booking software is also an option. For a less formal meeting, you might invite participants in person or through a phone call. If you choose a casual invitation method, following up with a written reminder can be helpful.

What types of questions could you ask at a manager meeting?

Depending on the participants, you might have prepared questions to ask each member of the leadership team. Here are some examples:

• How can we improve the team’s performance?
• What is one specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goal you want to set for your department?
• What do our key performance indicators (KPIs) reveal about lead generation for this quarter?
• What challenges do you anticipate with our upcoming product launch?
• Are there ways we can better encourage teamwork to streamline production?