Start by looking inward: assess how your team views the mtgs you lead. Are they looking forward to these sessions, or dreading them? Preparation and clarity are key. I’ve found that setting clear expectations, sharing a structured agenda, and defining the meeting’s goal upfront make a big difference. When I led team meetings, a technique that worked well was ending each session with an open “roundtable” moment, inviting everyone to share wins, concerns or ask for help. This made mtgs not only purposeful but also relevant to everyone, ensuring the time felt well-spent.

This is a real challenge much more prevalent now that we are often on virtual calls where it is tempting to try to multi-task during the meeting. What I've seen used effectively: 1. Ask up-front for attention, with empathy in acknowledging out loud that the temptation is strong to do other work while everyone is in the meeting. 2. Call on anyone that has yet to participate, ask for their collaboration or input, repeat the last point of the meeting so as to bring the participate back into the conversation swiftly and without embarrassing them. 3. Use humour, take a pause to make a funny comment/joke to the meeting content or just observing the general state of disengagement. Participants are sure to raise their heads and reignite!