No Agenda- the largest obstacle to conducting effective meetings.  What will people talk about and who should set the agenda? Should the meeting organizer role be shared?

No Time Limits- Meetings usually have a designated starting time. Good time management skills mean that members should put the time they need to leave their desk to get to the meeting room as the meeting time. But if there is no ending time, remember Parkinson's Law. Work expands to fill the time that's available unless lunch time or going home time intervenes.

Lack of Leadership- The formal and informal leaders help keep meeting agenda items focused, ensure they are communicated effectively, facilitate discussion of agenda items and bring them to closure. The team then makes a decision, solves a problems or shares information.

Little or No Participation- Team members can be discouraged from participating because they are put down when they do, fear taking responsibility or their input maybe wrong. Everyone on the team must be encouraged to participate in a safe and trusting meeting climate and people should only disagree with ideas, not attack the person.

Domination- Such behavior discourages other from participating and they quit paying attention to what's being discussed. Some team members can be intimidated by more boisterous aggressive meeting attendees.

Frequent Digressions- One huge obstacle to solving problems and making decisions when digressions build on digressions.

The Wrong People- People are often invited to meetings as a courtesy rather than for what they can contribute.

No Summary or Following Up- A meeting is not successful unless action gets taken on the decisions that are made.

Lack of Preparation- If team members do not receive an agenda or needed information prior to the meeting so they can read about the issues, they won't be able to listen to the discussion or have time to prepare and ill advised decisions may be made.

Lengthy, Boring Presentations- There are many reasons for speakers do that Team leaders should make sure presenters know their time slots and limits and encourage presentations to be short and to the point.

Unresolved Conflicts- To make decisions and solve problems, team members must focus on compromise and collaboration. Continuous conflict without resolution can cause a team to disintegrate.

Negative Attitude- Attitude becomes an obstacle when the team focuses on what can't be done instead of what can be accomplished.

If your team meetings are not on track, contact Motivating Wellness at Work for consultation and more ideas for overcoming these obstacles. To learn more, please visit www.motivatingwellnessatwork.comand click on Team Buildingwhere you may see workshop topics that might help your team management.