According to Robert Maddux, there are at least 13 reasons why team meetings don't work. Top of his list is that "there are too many of them". Many teams meet when they don't have to, either out of habit or lack of any other options. As a result, in some organizations, the call for a team meeting is met with groans. If this is the case in your organization, then stop and carry out a review of your team meetings and why you hold them. Then, only hold team meetings for one of the following five reasons.

1. Meeting for Briefings. Briefing meetings are likely to be held regularly rather than on an ad hoc basis. That's OK, but make sure that your agendas focus on the 3 A's of Administration, Achievements, and Action.

Talking about Administration issues is a way of dealing with the nitty-gritty of how the team works together and finding out if anything needs to be changed. Talking about Achievements is a way of giving public recognition to team and individual successes. Talking about Action is a way of planning the team's upcoming work.

2. Meeting to Decide. When a team meets to make a decision, the team needs to find ways for everyone to express a view and show commitment. Commitment to the decision is linked to how democratically the decision is made. However, when there is a strong need to reach a decision that all the team must support, viewpoints are expressed more strongly, alliances may be formed, arguments are put forcibly, people become entrenched.

The concept of Dialogue aims to avoid this pressure. Dialogue means placing the focus of the meeting on exchanging information purposefully. It means standing back when you disagree and wondering: "Why don't we agree on this point?" It means being prepared to just listen without feeling pressured to agree or support a view. It means being interested in what others in the team think.

Good talk creates its own momentum. Paradoxically, there is often more chance of agreeing when you take the need to agree off the agenda. It's good to have dialogue.

3. Meeting to Solve Problems. A team is an ideal forum for problem-solving simply because the more people who work on a problem, the greater the likelihood of original ideas. Techniques such as brainstorming are good ways to run such meetings. On the other hand, a team meeting is not always the best forum in which to make a decision. This is because, when there is disagreement, teams often prefer to compromise rather than split the team. The resulting decision is therefore watered down and not the best available to the team.

That's why you need to decide whether your problem-solving meetings are a discussion forum or a decision-making forum.

4. Meeting to Celebrate. Team meetings are an opportunity for celebration. Celebrations mark successes, beginnings and endings. When anyone joins the team, leaves the team or has a significant personal event, such as an exam pass, a birthday, a marriage, a new birth, the team should celebrate together.

Tracey Edwards, captain of the "Maiden" Whitbread round-the-world yacht, used the technique of always holding back some good news for team meetings. She used these bits of celebration when the crew were feeling down, the weather was bad or things were just not going well.

5. Meeting to Rehearse. Winning teams spend time together in the same way that sports teams train together and theatre companies rehearse together. By meeting to go through things, they can get it right for when it really matters.

• rehearsal meetings help the team to try out new ideas
• rehearsal meetings help to see if the right people are in the right jobs
• rehearsal meetings hone skills and bring out potential
• rehearsal meetings prepare people for problems ahead
• rehearsal meetings help people get to know one another
• rehearsal meetings help people learn together.

© Eric Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com 2009

Eric Garner is Managing Director of ManageTrainLearn, the site that will change the way you learn forever. Download free samples of the biggest range of management and personal development materials anywhere and experience learning like you always dreamed it could be. Just click on ManageTrainLearn and explore.