Leading a meeting 3

Remember, the Chair's greatest
strength is not in asserting his/her own will and position; it is in faithfully
representing the collective will of the meeting, and acting in the capacity of
a servant seeking to realize the objectives for which the meeting was called.
If staff can perceive that about the Chair, they will listen, contribute and do
accordingly.

 

The above touches on the surface of
the issue – many of the skills of chairing a meeting effectively relate to
precisely those skills identified through appraisal and teamwork: e.g.
listening, decision-making. There is an unfortunate assumption with leading
meetings that anyone can do it, and anyone can be invited so to do. It would
almost seem disgraceful to have to say – 'I'd like some training on how', but
this is strongly recommended for any leader who experiences doubts about their
effectiveness in this capacity. It is money well spent.

 

Recently, there has been a glut of
amusing advice on what to do to be ineffective in a variety of
contexts. Here are Brian Stockley's 10 suggestions for wasting people's time in
meetings. Study them – and do the opposite:

 

1. Be late for meetings
– keeping people waiting is a clear sign of superiority

2. Never discuss one
topic fully when you can play around with several

3. Don't hurry decisions
– they mature with age

4. Don't have relevant
papers to hand – you can all sit and wait for the photocopier

5. Run long meetings and
invite lots of people

6. Meet regularly when
there is nothing to do

7. Don't get things too
clear, e.g. what has been decided – then you can have another meeting

8. Don't set a finish time
– people have nothing else to do

9. Allow interruptions –
it show how important you are

10. Never create an
agenda – it gives too much away

 

Thus it is – review the ten points
above and do the opposite! Finally, if you would like a simple but highly effective
self-review tool in which you can pinpoint how to improve your meetings, then
contact me at: james@motivationalmentoring.com
and request REVIEW MEETINGS CHART. We only request that you acknowledge its
source when you use it. All the best with your meetings!