Two high-value, low time-intensive, sections that should be included into your monthly Forum meeting agenda are Shoutouts and Needs/Leads.
Shoutouts – Give the group up to three minutes to give some shoutouts for things that happened over the past 30 days that they want to celebrate about each other. This can be things that happened in their personal or professional life. An example might be, “I want to give a shoutout to Toni for completing that writers workshop she’s been going to for a the past year.”
Needs/Leads – Each person is given a chance to share one need and one lead to the group.
- Needs are a way for a member to ask the group for recommendations around a specific topic or challenge. An example of a need might be “A need I have for the group is for recommendations for a new graphic designer.“
- Leads are a way to share something that excited a member over the past 30 days. A lead can be a book they read, a movie they watch, a quote they heard, a new app they love, and so on. An example of a lead might be “A lead I have for the group is the book ‘The Power of Now’, that totally changed the way I’m showing up in each situation.“
When each person shares their need/lead, the rest of the group should avoid responding and instead take notes and then follow up with each need/lead AFTER the meeting. This will help to save time and keep the meeting going.
Ideally Shoutouts and Needs/Leads are place between the Monthly Update and Goals Sections. The reason is because the Monthly Update and Goals Sections are considered heavy work sections that drain energy. Having these two quick sections with high value placed in-between the heavy work sections will pump some energy back into the group.
NOTE – some groups will have the Parking Lot keeper record the needs and leads for everyone to review after the meeting.