Once a meeting ends, team members tend to go about their personal and work lives. They may forget all about the action items and decisions that came out of the meeting. To counteract this tendency, follow up on agreed-upon actions, and evaluate the outcome of the meeting.

Within 24 hours of a meeting, send a written record of the discussion, actions, and decisions—often called the meeting minutes—to everyone who attended the meeting as well as anyone who needs to know what happened. Include any materials or information that was missing or requested during the meeting.

Then spend some time reflecting on what worked well in the meeting and what could be improved upon at the next meeting. For example, did a number of people come to the meeting unprepared because they didn’t have enough time to review the materials you sent ahead of time? If so, consider sending required reading even earlier the next time.