The ability to run effective meetings is essential to drive organizational results: After all, no single big goal can ever be achieved in isolation. High-energy meetings are the catalyst for effective teamwork.
This is not easy.
Many times, a team identifies an important subject which requires a deeper discussion in a meeting. The risk is that discussing this subject derails the meeting process. This results in meetings which either structurally exceed the scheduled time, or do not cover all subjects on the meeting agenda.
A simple and powerful technique to ensure quality discussions in meetings, while at the same time respecting the meeting schedule, is to use a time box.
As soon as a subject pops up which requires additional discussion, propose a time box: a fixed amount of time for discussion. When the designated amount of time has passed, stop the discussion, and ask the team how they want to proceed: Take a decision, schedule additional time in the next team meeting, or take the next steps with a smaller group.
Mastering the time box will help you take back control of the energy of your team.