How Often Should Teams Meet?

Teams pose this question to me frequently, especially as they begin formation, or as they enter into a phase shift in their existence (such as from planning phase to execution phase). The answer, I advise, is to specify the minimum necessary to get together and accomplish objectives, and to also be smart enough to know when to add to it or reduce it further. Sometimes holidays and seasonal schedules get in the way, such as a team that meets on Mondays (when holidays tend to fall), or when teams don't have an effective quorum (minimum number of people showing up) when members take vacation time off, especially prone to happening in the summer.

So what happens when a team misses a meeting? I had some recent real-world experience that might be worthwhile to share. A team with whom I work regularly to facilitate and record called off a bi-weekly meeting on a Monday that fell on Memorial Day, a holiday. The team leader decided they would simply skip that meeting, and meet at their next regularly scheduled interval two weeks hence. That meant a month between meetings. What would be the effect?

I planned in advance to observe and identify any adverse effects, and what I saw in this particular team was heartening: 92% attendance of core members (only 1 of 12 persons had an unexcused absence), team members were generally prepared with responses to their action items (they were reminded of such in the agenda issued 3 workdays prior), a new replacement adjunct member showed up and was ready to substitute for someone who recently left the team for a new job, and the team was a lively and engaged group in discussions and debate. In my view, they actually seemed refreshed from not having seen one another in a month, and didn't skip a beat.

Would this "no impact" happen for every team I work with? No, because some team members need the pressure and commitment of a pending team meeting to deliver and complete the tasks they are assigned at a team meeting, otherwise, nothing else forces them to be accountable. They'd simply let the task slip until the next meeting.

The message as I see it: the team leader needs to be savvy enough to know when it's okay to call off a scheduled meeting, and when it necessary to add one in between regular cycles, and not be apprehensive about making either of these moves.