Teams function better when they meet together. It’s true. I was recently listening to Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast on the subject of “Leading a Team Meeting.” Though Andy brought out some good points, one the seems to stick with me is the statement he made:
“Teams that only meet when they need to meet will never really function as a team.” – Andy Stanley
In all my years of working on various teams and working with people of different backgrounds, different cultures and, most certainly, different upbringings, the glue that always held everything together was our ability to meet first then work together as a team. In our effort to resolve problems, whether brought on internally or that came from an external source, the camaraderie that is created by meeting together and allowing our different opinions to be hashed out in an unfiltered way has had the greatest amount of effectiveness.
These days, many people would rather not have inter-office, group or team meetings. Most of us would rather say what we have to say via email. But, it’s everyone coming together, giving up their time and giving up some space that truly makes us a part of a team.
Teams that fail to meet are not teams at all. Why? Because they are disconnected from each other. And, when you a group is disconnected there is no unity. Thus, no unified purpose or goal can be achieved.
We should never lose sight of the fact that teams need to meet together and we should meet often. Meeting often helps us to keep each others ideas at the forefront. It helps us to stay close to one another. And, it helps us to move forward together.