Running Your Design Team Meeting

Tasked with running an important meeting? Sure, anyone who’s had a career for longer than five minutes knows the gist of a “meeting” but do you really understand the assignment? Fortunately, we’ve assembled key factors to keep in mind for organizing probably the most creative meeting of them all, the Design Team Meeting: 

Talk about a powerhouse! With the most visible output of anyone in the company, the Design Team is an endless source of inspiration… right? Not quite. Like anyone in the org, this team deserves regular meetings, where collaboration and creativity are reinvigorated. Adept at taking feedback and rolling through challenges, the Design Team is best served with clear priorities and teamwork. 

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The Setting: This team is undoubtedly juggling more than a group of circus clowns, so be courteous and set a time that works for everyone. And no, you don’t need an overly polished slide deck -- there’s enough work as it is! Invite stakeholders from relevant teams, making it easier for assignments to be clearly discussed and understood.

The Vibe: Great design is inspirational and alluring, but it’s pretty hard to get into that headspace if you aren’t feeling it. Use this time to be fun and celebratory, amping folks up with success call outs. Cultivate a space where collaboration and constructive feedback comes naturally and resonates. 

The Nitty-Gritty: Obviously, this is a meeting where showing is more beneficial than simply telling. Open up the presentation for others to show off what’s being created. Listen to where everyone’s at with their short term and long term projects, triaging where necessary. This is where the outside teams’ input comes in; prioritize and strategize together to come out stronger. 

‍The Future: Establish a solid meeting to encourage team members to take the lead in subsequent meetings. Plan ahead to allow those who will be sharing time to feel confident in what they’re presenting. Actually, everyone leaving confident should be the ultimate goal!