Imagine that you open a meeting by saying, "We need to talk about the budget."
And someone responds with, "I named my dog Budget because everyone tells me he's too big."
After the laughter subsides, you wonder why anyone would make such a silly remark in your meeting.
And this leads to a larger question: Why would anyone misbehave in a meeting? Taken to the extreme, misbehavior can ruin a meeting. That wastes everyone's time and squanders the opportunity to produce useful results.
Here are some possibilities.
1) They're uninformed
Many people do not know how to plan, conduct, or participate in a meeting. They think that gathering people in a conference room represents holding a meeting. They believe that planning is unnecessary because they expect everyone to arrive with a common agenda. They think that hosting a discussion actually leads to useful results. These well-meaning attempts at holding a meeting are so counterproductive that they can appear to be misbehavior. In addition, a bad meeting irritates others, causing them to retaliate with misbehavior.
Better: Show people how to plan and conduct meetings. Teach them how to use process tools that help people make methodical progress toward results. Schedule a workshop that shows people how to plan and lead meetings. (Call me to talk about my outstanding workshop.)
2) They're bored.
Many meetings occur with a few people talking while the rest watch. When this happens, the quiet participants entertain themselves by daydreaming, starting side conversations, or working on other tasks (such as preparing lists of things to do once the meeting finally ends). People with extensive experience in bad meetings have learned how to feign credible interest while being mentally absent.
Better: Plan activities that involve everyone. Avoid relying on discussion for your meeting because it allows the more vocal attendees to dominate.
3) They're mad.
People can be mad for many reasons, such as they feel trapped in an unplanned meeting or they disagree with the results being obtained. They could also feel mad if others are preventing them from participating.
People know that a meeting without an agenda will waste their time, and they resent this. For example, a man once told me that he and his friends would "sandbag" any meeting that was called without an agenda. They made inappropriate comments, introduced distracting considerations, and asked pointless questions. Of course, they acted with such professional sincerity that it seemed that they were being productive instead of disruptive.
Better: Always prepare an agenda. Always contact key participants before the meeting to explain their role and to check if they are prepared for the meeting.
4) They disagree
Meetings are an excellent activity to resolve disagreements. However, if people disagree with the issue, the process, or the results AND are unable to exert influence, they will rebel. This rebellion will appear as misbehavior in the meeting or (worse) sabotage after the meeting.
Better: Use process tools in the meeting that involve all of the participants. Always contact key participants before holding a meeting on a controversial issue. Use these conversations to listen to their views, explain the goals for the meeting, and promote your intent for a fair resolution. Make sure that you seek a "Both/And" result instead of an "Either/Or" result so that everyone gets what they need.
5) They misunderstand
Sometimes people misunderstand expectations. For example, an executive was surprised by the negative comments, ridicule, and hostility that occurred during his first staff meeting with a new group. After some investigation, he learned that his predecessor openly criticized and ridiculed people. Thus, this was the behavior that the staff had learned to emulate. The executive fixed this by a) stating new expectations, b) coaching key offenders, and c) setting an example of respectful conduct.
Better: Cultural management is a primary leadership responsibility. Demonstrate the type of behavior that you want for productive meetings and provide private corrective feedback to those who misbehave.
An effective meeting is a team activity conducted by a fair process that involves everyone. People respect this approach and will make positive contributions because they know that such a meeting represents a good use of their time.
IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye helps groups of people hold effective meetings. His innovative workshops have informed and inspired people nationwide. His facilitation produces results that people will support. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com. Call 714-528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100 pages of valuable ideas.
Are you NICE or do you CARE? ... Read More
Purpose: Show how immersion leadership training makes strategic initiative success... Read More
Q: One of my former employees has launched an online... Read More
Does your hiring process consist of proven practices or just... Read More
Become a better boss and reap the benefitsAnother interesting study... Read More
"Without the chance to meaningfully participate in steering one's own... Read More
Transitioning from Vertical Hierarchies to Decentralized / Flatter OrganizationsThe need... Read More
Meetings, whether they're regularly scheduled routines in your company or... Read More
Every parent, educator, and manager knows that "Nintendo children"--those born... Read More
My client had faced the same challenge, which was frustrating... Read More
Communication is the key to your success at work, at... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
Key control, or more accurately the lack of key control... Read More
Human Resource Employee Risk ProfileIs your business at risk? Do... Read More
Another IT White Elephant!It seems that almost every day we... Read More
How Companies Are Like FamiliesLike a family, a company is... Read More
Have you ever hired someone who did not live up... Read More
Are your management practices on the right track? Retaining your... Read More
For good reason, practically every endeavor in life is rated.... Read More
Have you unintentionally set your business up for failure?No one... Read More
What is factoring?Accounts receivable financing, also known as factoring, is... Read More
What is a Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant is a... Read More
Imagine the following scenario; Ten years ago you decided to... Read More
If you want to find success in various ramifications, be... Read More
One of the biggest problems we encounter in our consulting... Read More
If your organization has people, then interpersonal skills are needed.I... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
One thing a lot of us don't do in sales... Read More
AbstractThe electrical products industry is one characterized by fierce competition,... Read More
A trainer dryly discussing how to motivate people in an... Read More
One of the most common complaints that business owners have... Read More
Some time ago we had the privilege of working with... Read More
Tips for Getting the Most From Your Conference Investment All... Read More
You're the boss, and you have every reason to feel... Read More
Rejection hurts. No one likes to give it or to... Read More
THE CHANGING BOSS-SECRETARY RELATIONSHIP: Imagine a partnership at work. One... Read More
How do you, or would you, communicate with employees who... Read More
Q: I started my small business about a year ago... Read More
1. Eliminate wasteEliminate reports, habits, products, duplicate input, and processes... Read More
This article relates to the Training competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More
Measure the right things. It's not enough just to measure-you... Read More
Teleconferences can be a boon or a bust. On the... Read More
Your people are invaluable to you. They are the lifeblood... Read More
You, the Entrepreneur, are 'normally' a type-A individual. One who... Read More
Nobody's perfect, including the boss. Managers, we polled recently, acknowledged... Read More
Creativity measurement is often required in order to benchmark existing... Read More
It is 9:00 am on a Monday morning. Do you... Read More
Building a 'bridge of understanding' between parties is... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
About a year ago, I had an opportunity to have... Read More
You can possibly teach a turkey to climb a tree... Read More
Whilst the very best coaches have undertaken independently accredited training... Read More
This article relates to the Job Security competency, commonly evaluated... Read More
If you think the power move has costs, consider the... Read More
Every business is run by someone who took on a... Read More
Many organisations use the term "lessons learned" to describe the... Read More
If you have ever worked within a large organisation then... Read More
The second you quit being the 'best deal' for your... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
For the past several weeks, we have focused on some... Read More
Creativity and Innovation is essential for competitive advantage, yet the... Read More
Unhappy as Jenny undoubtedly was, she held on very tightly... Read More
Look for sponsors and solution owners rather than problem owners.Everyone... Read More
How you run your business is, of course your business.... Read More
This article relates to the Training competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More
Leadership in Troubled Times The... Read More
Business Management |