Have you ever considered HOW you meet? Really stopped to notice and think about the dynamics in your meetings and whether they are serving you, or working against you? If your meetings aren’t inspiring you and everyone in them, perhaps you need to have a rethink.
I asked someone this week “What do your meetings look like?”
She answered, telling me all about the pattern of meetings in her business. She explained how often which parts of the team meet, and what they expect to cover.
I then asked “What about the dynamics in those meetings? How do they actually work?”. And her face went completely blank. She had clearly never considered it before. “We just talk about the agenda” she said.
It made me wonder how common that is. We don’t want to waste time in meetings, so we usually put thought into when we meet, and what we are going to talk about. But how often do we think about HOW we meet?
And I think that’s just as important, because, if the dynamics in our meetings are ineffective, they quickly become a massive waste of time and energy!
Did you know that in most meetings 30% of people do 90% of the talking? And within organisations, usually the same 30% dominate all of the meetings.
Is that your experience?
Are you unwittingly part of the 30%, dominating all the discussions? (I know I was!)
Or are you part of the 70% who sit quietly, observing? Not wanting to interject or interrupt, because that’s simply not your style.
We employ people in our teams because we believe they will add value, right? So why on earth wouldn’t we want to listen to what 70% of them have to say?
Hiring people is expensive, and we want to get our money’s worth! We waste people’s potential, by not asking them what they think.
If you change nothing else – next time you have a meeting, ask every single person present “What do you think?”
Then let them answer, promising them that you won’t interrupt them. And see what happens. You might have to do it a few times before they start to believe they won’t be interrupted, and that you will really listen. But persevere. I promise it’s worth it.
The recruitment market is tough at the moment, and great people stay where they feel valued. Where their thoughts and input are valued. Where they can make a difference.
So please, take time to notice the dynamics in your meetings. Are they inspiring everyone there, or are they stifling the potential in the room?
Holding great meetings where everyone contributes their very best thinking and ideas is a skillset that can be taught and learned. When you get it right, it transforms organisations. I have courses running across this year (details here) where you can learn more. Or, I can work directly with your team to transform your meetings.
If you’re interested in finding out more, please email me I would love to hear from you and have a chat.
Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash
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