"What do I now know I need to learn about leading meetings in order to lead meeting effectively and well?"
I observed a presbytery meeting. While I have participated in presbytery meetings many times I have never observed one intentionally looking for specific things. I learned a bunch of things that I normally never noticed. For instance one thing I know I need to learn is that it is ok to disagree with each other and still proceed forward in love. It is ok to disagree with someone but to still let their voice be heard and to honor where they come from. It is ok to disagree with someone’s opinion but still love the person. I witnessed several presbyters get up and assert that they disagreed with a certain premise and voice their concerns and reservations while the entire assembly listened in love and affirmed the person and their stance and values. I also learned that is helpful to have organization and structure. The leader must be prepared and do his/her part so that everyone else can be prepared and do their part. The packets that were sent out at least a week before the meeting were very helpful and allowed for people to come to the meeting informed and prepared. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants and I am never prepared in advanced but I now see how important that can be. I also watched as the moderator while giving each person equal voice also kept everyone on topic and was able to manage time well. I have been in meetings and have even led meetings that go down fifty different rabbit trails and a one-hour meeting turns into a three-hour meeting. I would benefit from learning how to manage the conversations and me aware of time.