Solving the Pathetic Meeting Problem
Orderly leadership meetings are pathetic and useless. Head-nodding sessions are exercises in futility that waste resources, talent, and time. Cancel them and do something productive.
The spirit of agreement permeates pointless leadership meetings.
When was the last time you saw anything beyond polite disagreement followed by quick head-nodding in a leadership meeting?
Mediocre meetings reflect and produce mediocre organizations.
Necessity:
Polite management meetings filled with reports, planning, and assignments necessarily fit into organizational landscapes. But…
Effective leadership meetings:
- Confusion. There are moments when contributions from others make you wonder what planet the speaker is from. Confusion indicates new perspectives.
- Ignite emotion. Aren’t you sick of safe meetings where no one feels anything except fear? Rest assured if you don’t feel it, your organization won’t either.
- Challenge and confrontation. Leaders who can’t be challenged are organizational bottlenecks. Teams that won’t confront issues are driven by self-interest.
- Hammer out agreement. Effective leadership meetings develop points of highest agreement that teams enthusiastically support. Tough problems have several solutions. Make a decision and make it work.
Dissent, even conflict, is necessary, indeed desirable. Without dissent and conflict there is no understanding. And without understanding, there are only wrong decisions.
Peter Drucker
Four ways to ignite meetings:
- Build relations with team members that enable candor. Distance produces fear; connection courage.
- Systematize dissent. Require the entire team to speak for and against the issue on the table.
- Ask those who originate ideas to explain why they won’t work.
- Develop three solutions and have everyone defend all three.
The path to oblivion is smooth. Great decisions are born in conflict. The path to exceptional is paved with the bones of the mediocre. Successful leaders create structures for constructive dissent.
How can organizations create constructive dissent?
How can leaders avoid being mired in dissent?
Great list… I would add, stop stupid conversation. I was in a meeting yesterday where the leader said (about a topic he had started), “the hourly rate to discuss this topic is ridiculous we need to make a decision and move on.” I had thought the same thing 20 minutes before.
Thanks Karin. Speaking of money. Just think of the combined salaries of the people in all these meetings who are getting paid to nod their heads. Ugh!
If it’s not worthy of using everyone’s time at that point (or level) it could also be suggested to put the item in a parking lot (future agenda) for a later more targeted mtg (i.e. less participants) or to just be handled offline by whomever needs to make the decision with an email explaining the outcome.
Very true! If we can’t open up, we can’t get ahead!
Nicely said Bill. Thanks for jumping in.
Are you spying on me? The perfection of timing for me on this is insane. Thanks! I needed this paradigm shift.
Thanks James. It doesn’t take much spying. Pathetic meets are pervasive. I feel like the fortune teller who predicts the sun will rise. I’ve found it a slow and sometimes awkward shift but worth the effort. I’ve been engaged in some very helpful and “vibrant” leadership meetings that give me hope. Best wishes for the journey.
Well create constructive dissent…..have every person attending the meeting read and listen to Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sineks new book I got in the mail yesterday!!!! Autographed and everything!!!!
Why read and listen, comprehension goes up to 50% using this bimodal method.
A tidbit. “It is just a matter of biology and anthropology. If certain conditions are met and the people inside an organization feel safe among each other, they will work together to achieve things none of them could have ever achieved alone. The result is that their organization towers over their competitors.”
“Create cultures that inspire people to give all they have to give simply because they love where they work.”
This book is about how companies that have these cultures created them.
The key is trust. If people feel SAFE they can share how they really feel. Not say in a meeting what SOUNDS good or say nothing at all. Trust is where it’s at baby!!!!!
Leaders can stay above the fray by taking their time, sacrificing their time so the people who work with them know the Leader has their back. Back to the trust thingy.
Great book, might give new insights and understanding if people open their minds to it.
That or just regurgitate what does not work cause it is comfy.
Deloitte shift index…80% of people are dissatisfied with their jobs.
Don’t like that take it up with Deliotte.
Regurgitating lame stuff repeats lame results.
SP back to oxytocin generating.
Thanks Scott. Gotta appreciate Simon’s insights. Congrats on the signed copy.
Thanks Dan just had to buy one of the first 250!!!!!!!! Just a tremendous book so far!
Have a great weekend
SP
I always hated meetings that were being held simply because they were on the schedule. Minutia expands to fill the time allotted. Isn’t that some kind of losers law?
Thanks Dauna. “Loser laws” I feel a post coming on… 🙂
You made me laugh out loud alone in my office. Loser laws: I can’t wait to read that post.
I know I shared that I am working by myself at home. LOL, but I love reading your insights.
I remember the days of company meetings and my husband still comes home after company meetings, so I know what you are talking about here.
I agree also with the comment that you should have an environment where people like working there and feel comfortable to share. It goes well with all you shared.
Thanks again and have a awesome weekend.
Kymee
Nothing any worse than being ostracized by management when you try to offer constructive criticism and/or pitfalls to a great idea when everyone else is scrambling to support it. Somethings an idea is so great that people become short sited or myopic to the one little problem or hole in the plan that could sink the idea. Setting up meetings in which somebody has to play the devil’s advocate is a good idea in examining the good, bad and ugly details of any proposed idea.
I couldn’t agree more! At the leadership level all members should also have each others’ back. It should be a safe space to voice ideas, solutions, etc.
lol,to avoid head nodding session meetings… good stuff
Great post. In my coaching practice, one of the most common irritations is ineffective meetings that bore, waste time and are frustrating for all participants. I agree that fear is a huge obstacle to effective meetings. Here are some further tips on running more productive meetings from my leadership blog (The Leader’s Digest) http://theleadersdigest.me/2013/06/22/6-simple-ways-to-run-successful-meetings/
I very much agree with Michael LaPointe’s statement, “Nothing’s worse than being ostracized by management when you try to offer constructive criticism and/or pitfalls to a great idea when everyone else is scrambling to support it.” The larger the company the steeper the hierarcy (in other words, more CYA’ing going on), and let’s face it, a lot of people with brown noses are doing fine and like ‘doing fine’ thank you very much.
I’ve found most leaders aren’t comfortable with what they perceive as ‘confrontation’, even when presented in a ‘devils advocate’ manner in order to ferret out if the idea/plan is feasible, what steps will be needed to carry it out, what the pitfalls may be, who’s skills could best be utilized to carry out the idea/plan, if perhaps a variation of the “great idea” would be a better alternative, etc. Its usually the ‘leader’s idea’ and they are excited about it, so they perceive any criticism as ‘cold water’ on their ‘hot idea’.
In short, most corporate/company cultures will find this a very uncomfortable exercise. However, the benefits would be unbelievably worth it. I guess it goes back to the old saying, “no pain, no gain”. 🙂
I have attended so many meetings, where there has been no discussion at all. The only real meetings would take place in the bars, and typically, I write to the other attendees to fix up offline meetings. Then, in the meeting, while the global CEO would be engaged in his monologue, I would watch some people get up and say “yes boss, we love you boss”, only to do their own stuff after the meeting, others would be engaged in checking their emails, some would be counting their toes through their shoes, or admiring the toe-nail polish of the female executive next to them and, one would be studiously engaged in cutting an apple into precise geometrical shapes before wolfing them down.
About 30 executives from across the world would fly to the global HQ once a quarter to repeat this ritual faithfully, while solemnly nodding their heads to sermons on cost-cuts and productivity and effective leadership.
The ritual never varied. Not once.
One day, the global CEO wondered why we lagged behind our peers in the same industry.
“Is there anyone out there” to answer his call? 😉
I love this description! I have attended meetings where things unfold exactly as you have described. Far too common a scenario.
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