Meaningful Meetings

Treasure the thank yous that you receive. Thank yous are fairly rare. A written thank you is even more rare than a spoken thank you. Some folks in your ministry are in a position where they may hear or receive more thank yous than the folks who are behind-the-scenes. 1 Corinthians 12:26 states that if “one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.” If your team has been thanked in writing for something, taking the time to pass those thanks on is a simple way to make a meeting meaningful. Following are a few practical ideas.

• Collect thank yous and read or share them at a staff meeting, making sure to recognize people behind-the-scenes that may not have been mentioned but whom you know actually made it possible. Many times I am thanked for something I had very little to do with. I just happen to be the one they’ve seen on the platform. Taking a few moments to mention people who are really responsible will put the thank you in its right place.
• When your read a thank you note to your staff, play fill in the blank. “I just received a thank-you note that said, ‘I am so impressed with your (blank)’.”
  I usually circle the word I am going to leave out and let the team guess what the missing word is. One of the things this makes us do is recognize what people are thankful for, and many times reminds us that people are thankful for the little things that others do for them. Playing fill in the blank raises the awareness of a thank you.
• Do not expect a thank you. That way, when one is given, it will be met with joy as opposed to an it’s-about-time attitude.
• On occasion, let your team give a spoken thank you to others on the team. If you have a small group of three to six, each person could easily be thankful for something about each of his teammates. Start the meeting by saying, “I am thankful for Jon, because I can count on him to follow through with whatever he does. How are you thankful for Jon?” Everybody gets to answer, and they cannot give the same answer as someone else. If your team is larger, you may have to change the format.

Remember that thank yous are rare. Your team will enjoy an occasional thank you.