Your first staff meeting as a new leader can feel like a test you didn’t study for.

The stakes feel high, you’re still unsure of yourself, and there’s pressure to perform.

As a staff nurse, you may never have had to run a meeting, so it’s natural to feel some trepidation in this new territory

It’s tempting to wing it, but this is one of those moments where a little structure goes a long way.

As with your initial introductions to individual team members, the first staff meeting presents a strategic opportunity to build credibility, allay fears, and set the tone for your transition.

What will make your first staff meeting a success? Here’s three principles:

Principle 1 – Be clear on the outcome

As the late-great Stephen Covey wrote: “begin with the end in mind.”

Getting clear on the outcomes is a leadership habit you will never outgrow.

This first meeting is no exception.

Get clear on what you need to accomplish. While your situation will dictate this to some degree, most new leaders need to do some variation of the following:

• Introduce themselves
• Allay staff fears
• Lay the first building blocks of trust and credibility

If you stay laser-focused on those outcomes, you will craft an agenda that supports those targets instead of being a random assortment of topics-du-jour.

Principle 2 – Start small

Along the same lines, keep your agenda lightweight and streamlined around those objectives. It’s easy to overestimate how much you can cover.

Err on the side of fewer topics and more time for each. Don’t underestimate how much discussion a single topic can generate.

Don’t overload your agenda with transactional or informational content. You can find other means to communicate those types of information.

Group time in meetings is valuable – don’t waste it with proverbial “could have been an email” topics.

Principle 3 – Set the right level of formality

Some meetings need to be pretty formal – committees, board meetings, large forums, etc.

Team meetings are a bit less so, but still need some structure, especially early on.

I aim for staff meetings to feel semi-casual, with a conversational tone and relaxed approach, couched inside light structure to keep things orderly and on-time.

A few small steps go a long way toward striking this balance:

Step 1 – Prepare and publish an agenda ahead of time.

Format doesn’t matter as much as clarity and accessibility – even just a list of topics, owners, and timeframes is sufficient.

This communicates seriousness and planning, not a free-for-all complaint session.

It may even spark curiosity and improve attendance.

Step 2 – Honor the start and end time

This sets the tone for future meetings, and shows respect for the fact that meetings often feel disruptive to patient care.

Be clear about when the meeting begins and ends, and stick to that.

It’s okay to wait a few minutes for stragglers, but don’t delay more than 5 minutes after the scheduled start.

Sit somewhere you can see a clock, and start wrapping things up at least 5 if not 10 minutes before the scheduled end time.

Step 3 – Structure who has the floor

On the agenda, be clear which portions of the meeting will include discussion, and which will not.

Open your meeting with an overview of the agenda and reiterate the format of each topic/section so everyone is clear on where they can contribute and when they’re expected to listen.

At the same time, clearly state that discussion segments need to be orderly and respectful, without interrupting or talking over each other.

Stating these expectations clearly and confidently at the outset will communicate confidence and control to your team, regardless of how you feel internally 🙂.

Now that you have a few guiding principles, you might be thinking – “ok, but what do I actually put on the agenda for my first meeting?”

On Thursday, I’ll share the exact agenda you can use for your first meeting, so you don’t have to guess.