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Research shows that a great percentage of meetings are
run poorly, resulting in huge losses of time and
productivity. I believe that there are three main
reasons that meetings continue to leave us wanting:
1) We underestimate the complexity of group thought.
2) Few of us are trained in meeting facilitation skills.
3) Boggled by group complexity and lacking requisite
skills, we fall into dysfunctional patterns, failing to
do anything to change meeting dynamics.
Given that there are eight times more participants than
there are meeting leaders in your average group,
targeting meeting leaders alone to improve meetings may
be missing the mark. What if we were to arm meeting
participants with the basic knowledge, skills, and
attitudes they could use to keep their groups on track
and moving forward? The 12 Acts below were written to do
just that, and to frame leadership as a quality anyone
can exercise, no matter what their official position.
Act I: K-No-w It. Know what honors you and your time and
to say “no” to everything else. Learn enough about the
purpose of a meeting before it happens to make an
educated decision around your potential contribution.
This indirectly calls the meeting organizers to a higher
level of clarity around their purpose—which is essential
for the success of any meeting.
Act II: Ask for It. Get your agenda on the agenda. Get
your personal and professional agenda added to the
meeting agenda. Boldly asking for what you want provides
the direction and energy that’s often lacking in
meetings.
Act III: Prepare For It. Tap into your meeting genius by
being thoroughly prepared. Knowing what and whom you
need to know so that you are properly prepared for a
meeting allows you to gracefully respond to challenges.
Act IV: Adjust Your Att-It-ude. Be curious, observant,
and patient. The mindset from which you make
interventions as a group member has a strong bearing on
your success. Come from a place of curiosity when making
suggestions and you will likely be heard. Be observant
and patient to free yourself from judgments that limit
your relationships, and to give others the chance to
change.
Act V: Say It. Realize and express your truth in service
to the group. For most of us, speaking out publicly is
of our greatest fear. Getting clear about why you're
afraid to speak, when it's time to speak, and how to do
so makes expressing your truth much easier.
Act VI: Focus It. Focus your group on a common vision.
Vigilantly challenge your groups to be clear on their
objectives and to improve how they work together and you
will set the stage for your group to actually get better
over time.
Act VII: Park It. Keep your group on target by avoiding
tangents. In a world ruled by distractions, it’s tough
to avoid detours on the way to your objectives. A
Parking Lot can help keep your group on course while
respecting and capturing ideas outside the scope of the
agenda.
Act VIII: Contain It. Contain group energy within
operating norms. Effective groups need operating norms
to establish healthy boundaries. Norms hedge against
dysfunctional behavior that dilutes physical and
emotional energy, while still offering participants the
space to creatively pursue their objectives.
Act IX: Deliver It. Convert talk into action, decisions
into deeds. One of the biggest complaints leveled
against meetings is that, "Nothing ever happens!"
Participants become disillusioned and tune out when this
becomes the norm. Ask questions to encourage action in
your groups.
Act X: In It, Not Of It. Avoid groupthink and access
group mind—the way to enlightened decisions. The
tendency to maintain harmony at all costs can harm your
groups and the victims of your group’s decisions.
Understand the symptoms and remedies of groupthink to
stay connected to your group’s collective conscience.
Act XI: Facilitate It. Facilitate full participation.
Fully participating group members support decisions
made, offer access to the collective wisdom and
experience of the group, and reduce the possibility of
groupthink. As a participant, learn strategies to assure
that full participation is achieved.
Act XII: It’s All Good. Transform conflict into a spirit
of collaboration. Healthy conflict is an essential
ingredient for group collaboration. Unhealthy conflict,
that is conflict involving a winner and a loser, should
be avoided. Adopt an attitude that any fight you engage
in must be a fight to win--to a win that benefits all
concerned.
These 12 Acts are thoroughly explained in my new book,
This Meeting Sux…12 Acts of Courage to Change Meetings
for Good. This book provides you with specific tools,
strategies, language, and actions you can use as an
empowered, facilitative participant to change your
meetings and your life for good. Pick up the book, or
the first three chapters for free at http://www.ThisMeetingSux.com.
Steve
Davis, M.S., M.A. is the founder of FacilitatorU.com, a
virtual university offering training, tools, and
resources to group facilitators, trainers, consultants,
coaches, and leaders. Steve consults with organizations
and individuals and offers workshops, training, and
coaching to enhance leadership and collaboration skills.
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