12 Sep How to Make Creative Meetings Better
Creative meetings are where some of the best ideas for ministry are conceived and birthed but they also can be the very place where we lose brain cells and our IQ drops. These meetings can either be fun and exciting, or completely dull and boring. Obviously, we’d rather our creative meetings be fun, exciting and well….creative.
But for many church leaders, they wander around from conference to conference, book to book, all looking for the secret “sauce” that will make their meetings better. While this “sauce” might exist somewhere (please let me know if you find it) there are some very simple adjustment that you can make in your brainstorming meetings or get the creative juices flowing.
The first starts with the meeting space. Coffee houses are often a desired location for both meetings and work spaces. Why is that? Well for one, there is always coffee close by. But a close second is that there is an environment set up that spurs creativity and productivity. Something about being in that coffee shop makes you want to study for next week’s message or finish that spreadsheet that it due tomorrow. But when it comes to creative planning meetings we often settle for a meeting space that is less than comfortable and most often makes us get bored very quickly.
Some teams have gone so far as to design meeting rooms with creative, modern looking chairs, tables, and hammocks. Having a creatively made environment does a lot subconsciously to help foster creative thinking.
But don’t just stop with the decor. Every good brainstorming meeting needs food and drink. Brainstorming takes a lot out of your team mentally and just like you wouldn’t make them run a 5k without providing them with water and Gatorade, make sure to give them good mental snacks. Provide finger foods, chips, pretzels, trail mixes, cookies and candy. If the meeting will span over the course of a meal, consider getting a cater. The cost will be well worth the good ideas that are put forth. Also, make sure to provide you team with sodas, coffee, and lots of Red Bull. Caffeine is your friend when it comes to thinking creatively.
The second thing is to set time limits. All of our brains can only work for so long before our creative juices are lacking. While some teams push through the meeting and try to force great ideas, some of the best creative teams take a break and allow their minds to loosen up. Sometimes they take a break to the parking lot where they break out a basketball or football. Sometimes it takes some youtube videos or a game of paper basketball. Do whatever needs to be done to give yourself a break, but make sure you get back to work as well.
The last tip is to appoint someone to moderate every meeting. Oftentimes meetings drag on and on for hours because nobody has set any parameters for the meeting. Old topics are reviewed and discussed over and over while new ideas are often viewed as bad and then tossed to the wayside. Having a moderator allows for someone with the authority to call a break or to keep working a little longer. They can also set an end time and make sure the meeting doesn’t go over. This moderator should be someone new every meeting in order to be effective.
The moderator should also be responsible for controlling the flow of conversation. If the group begins to get off track, the moderator is able to steer them back to the topic at hand or encourage them to move on to the next topic. Another important role that the moderator plays is deciding how long the group should camp on an idea. Many times, great ideas are thrown out or discarded because they don’t seem practical or feasible. But with a little collaboration and input from others in the group, it could end up being the home run idea that you needed all along.
For more ideas, check out our video on Strange Leadership.
