Making Memorable Meetings by Creating a Culture of Encouragement

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fun in meetingsThe second step in creating a memorable meeting is to create a culture of encouragement. No one likes to go to a meeting and feel worse than before they arrived!   Your attitude as the meeting facilitator can go a long way to contributing to the way people feel.  Now that your meeting is organized (read my previous entry), you can build in moments of encouragement and affirmation.  Make sure your meeting allows for fun, community, creativity, and relationship building.  Sometimes you can gauge how “fun” a meeting is by the amount of humor, laughter and conversation.  Certainly as a facilitator you’ll need to monitor the unproductive behaviors (tangent takers, jokers, know-it-all’s, side conversations, etc) – but part of creating a memorable meeting is making sure that there is a positive emotion that is generated.  Think about some “ice breakers” that can engage your participants.  Bring a smile and your positive energy. 

Sometimes as meeting facilitator you need to make sure people feel “safe” when negative comments or remarks are shared.  Make sure that you continue to provide a place where people can share what they are feeling – in a way that is constructive and that builds up (not tears down). 

People may forget all of the topics that are discussed (that is why meeting Minutes are so important) but they will not forget how they “feel.” You can create the good feeling by creating a culture that says “I’m glad you are here.” And “You matter.”

Making memorable meetings – by doing Pre-Meeting Planning

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Meeting AgendaHave you ever heard a speaker whose humor seemed so comfortable, that it even seemed spontaneous?  I used to think that some speakers just “have this gift” and can “wing it.”  After more than 20 years in the business, I am more and more convinced that those speakers who look like they “wing it” actually spend hundreds of hours in pre-speech practice.   As much as I would like to “wing” speaking, an effective speech needs to be well-crafted and it also needs to be rehearsed and practiced often. With practice, humor can seem spontaneous and be so incredibly helpful in making a dramatic point.

So our first step in creating a memorable meeting is this – be organized!  A well-run meeting does not just happen – it takes careful planning.  Plan days ahead.  Create an agenda.  Communicate the agenda to others well in advance of the meeting.  Ensure that those who have roles know their time limits.  Get clear on the “end in mind” or purpose of your meeting.  Anticipate who will be attending.  Allow “padding time” for those that tend to go over time.  Make sure that people have plenty of time to prepare for the meeting.  Make sure people know “who is doing what – and when” as you summarize the meeting.  And ensure that there are “meeting” minutes along with individuals assigned to action steps (and deadlines), distributed after the meeting. Start and end on time. 

You’ll be surprised that with structure, there will be plenty of opportunities for creativity, relationship building and encouragement.

Creating Memories in your Meetings

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Toastmasters International

I just returned from a Toastmasters meeting, having been away from a club for nearly 10 years. And I sure have missed Toastmasters!  Many professional speakers like me began our professional speaking careers by getting hands-on training every week by participating in a local club meeting or by being a part of speech contests.  Many of us have found ourselves drawn back to the warmth, enrichment, and personal and professional development that Toastmasters gives us. For those not familiar with Toastmasters, Toastmasters International is a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience.  Nearly 260,000 members in over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries, this non profit organization (founded in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California), is a proven and yes, even enjoyable way, to practice and enhance communication and leadership skills.  Check out www.Toastmastersinternational.org to learn more about this organization and find a club that is near you!).

I was struck that, with structure and preparation, a simple lunch hour can be transformed into a wonderful memory.  The meeting was well-organized, timely and fun. Within a structure, incredible creativity can blossom.  For example, one woman did an interpretative reading from the play “The Waiting Room” that transported many of us to the injustices done to women “all in the name of beauty” down through the ages.  I left the meeting with my mind and heart expanded from just being in attendance.   I want to return!

What about you? Are you creating moments during a meeting that will encourage people to want to come back for more?  You don’t need to be a Toastmaster to be able to create memorable meetings or events for your team.  In the next three BLOG entries, I’ll be sharing creative ways that you can use  immediately to create memorable memories in your next meeting.

Is Management Dead? – Part 10 – Unity in Diversity

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In this final installment in our series about the implications of a more collaborative workplace, we focus on what may seem like an apparent contradiction – unity in diversity.  What does this mean?   First, unity means that as an organization, department, or a team – every person needs to clearly identify what goal or mission they are striving towards as a collaborative team.  There needs to be a unified effort or mission to achieve the goals or mission of the team.  Second, but in this unity- there needs to be an honoring of the diversity of the people involved.  Diversity in personalities, skills, talents, backgrounds, experience, education, genders, language, culture, etc.  We are thus all going in the same direction while retaining our own unique talents.  An organization that can successfully do these two things – be clear on the mission as well as invite and honor and celebrate the diversity of talent – is able to effectively thrive in this new type of collaborative workplace.  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • Do you currently conduct a diversity class for all your employees?
  • What are you doing to ensure that you are recruiting and interviewing well-qualified people who bring diversity into the workplace?
  • Are all your managers aware of your state and federal regulations as they relate to interview questions, hiring and firing, professional development opportunities, and tuition reimbursement? 

Is Management Dead? – Part 9 – Solving your own Conflict

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In this new workplace, every person on your team needs to know the ways in which conflict can be resolved.  Let’s focus our attention on conflict by highlighting three issues:

  1. What is your own definition of conflict? Some of us think of fight, battle, and tension and certainly some conflict involves these negative influences. But a much more “neutral” working definition is to consider that conflict is a situation when your wishes differ from those of another person.
  2. Create norms around conflict.  What are some guidelines that you can agree to as a team that can help every team member effectively deal with conflict. For example, some norms include that each team member is encouraged to go to the person he/she is having a challenge with directly, rather than engage in negative gossip about the person. Another norm is that if you should hear negative reports about any other team member, that you ask the person if they have talked with the person first.
  3. Incorporate a conflict resolution process. There are a number of conflict process management steps out there – here’s one that I’ve found helpful with other teams:

Step 1: Clearly identify the area of conflict

Step 2: List areas of agreement

Step 3: List areas of disagreement

Step 4: Determine the source of conflict

Step 5: Problem solve

Is Management Dead? – Part 8 – How High is your EQ?

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You’ve heard of IQ – but perhaps you haven’t heard of emotional intelligence which has become widely accepted as a legitimate theory with broad implications in every discipline, including the business environment.  In a nutshell, emotional intelligence is your awareness of and ability to manage your own emotions as well as to “tune into” the emotions of other people.  In 1983, Howard Gardner of Harvard actually identified eight different intelligences: Spatial, Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist.   His theory was further expanded when Dr. Daniel Goleman wrote his book, Emotional Intelligence. Dr. Goleman goes as far to say that those people, who have higher EQ or Emotional Quotient, tend to be more successful than those with low EQ. 

As we are analyzing how we can prepare ourselves for this new collaborative workplace, the importance of emotional intelligence cannot be overstated. For indeed, as workers and managers are asked to collaborate, work cross-functionally, operate interdependently, with plenty of freedom to make decisions, the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions is critical.   Think about it – your skill in building collaborative relationships, effectively deal with conflict and overcome failure are critical success factors. With a high EQ or Emotional Quotient, you can tap into the creative energy and information that emotions can give you and as a leader or professional use positive emotions (called resonance) to help move a team forward.  As Daniel Goleman states in his book, Working with Emotional Intelligence, “We are being judged by a new yardstick: not just how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and each other.” 

Here are some questions to ask yourself to consider your EQ level:

  • How “tuned” in are you to your own emotions?  Or to the emotions of others?
  • How likely are you to be able to maintain control with your own emotions?
  • How is your ability to “talk the talk” by living out your values?
  • How open are you to your own mistakes?
  • How are you in dealing with conflict?
  • What is your ability to create collaborative partnerships (with others)?

For more information on this fascinating subject, I highly recommend these books:

  • Emotional Intelligence, by Dr. Daniel Goleman
  • Working with Emotional Intelligence, By Dr. Daniel Golemen
  • Executive EQ by Robert K. Cooper, PH.D, and Ayman Sawaf.

Is Management Dead? – Part 7 – Every worker is an owner

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There are numerous examples of corporations that instill the idea that no matter where you work, you own a piece of the corporation.    How would your actions change if you were truly the owner of the organization that you work in?   The Society for Advancement of Consulting, (SAC®) in an article dated 10/1/07, shares their findings after surveying their global membership to find out some key elements that can help companies successfully instill this philosophy in their corporate culture. SAC® member Bill Corbett president of Corbett Business Consulting in Loveland, Colorado made the following observations. “The three most effective practices for making every employee feel and act like an owner are: 1) To treat everyone as an equal, making the assumption that he or she wants the best for the department, division, or company, and is a team player; 2) Implement their excellent ideas as quickly as possible; and 3) Always give credit to the employees for their contributions.”

As you think about your organization, what positive steps can you take to help every staff member feel like an owner?

Is Management Dead? – Part 6 – Being Known

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Authentic leadershipIn the article by Peggy Noonan in the August 28-29, 2010 edition of the Wall Street Journal entitled, “We Just Don’t Understand,” Ms Noonan talks about President Obama and the fact that many Americans don’t really “know” President Obama.   In her words, he is “still a mystery to a lot of people,” and this can lead people to question and criticize his leadership.  You may agree or disagree with Ms. Noonan’s perspective but her premise sure has relevance to this new organizational structure where there is more collaboration and communication in the workplace- communication with manager to employee; employee to team, and team to team.  Certainly, the era where people can “hide” behind an office door or their title is nearing an end.  Employees are asked to work with each other – and many teams now include a team evaluation where they can get evaluated by their peers.   With little or sketchy information or knowledge about someone, many of us can find ourselves defaulting to assumptions (read my previous BLOG entry dated 10/8/2010 ) – that may or not be based on reality.   Indeed, a critical component of building trust is this important facet of making yourself known. 

 How do we know one another in the workplace? Here are some ways:

  •  Have every team member take a communication style assessment (read my 9/30/2010 entry)
  • Incorporate a  “getting to know you” 10 minute teambuilding activity in your staff meeting
  • As a manager – share some personal facts (within reason) so that your staff gets to know you better

 One of the fun activities I incorporate in my Diversity class is “Diversity Bingo.” Each participant must get a BINGO based on squares about interesting tidbits of facts, such as how long a person has worked for the company or if they are more detail oriented or people-focused.  Invariably, within 10 minutes of this activity, the class of “strangers” is suddenly transformed to individuals with unique talents, gifts, and experiences. 

So my thought provoking question to you is – do people know you enough to trust you?

Is Management Dead? -Part 5 – Remove the Barriers!

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As a manager, one of your traditional jobs is to “remove the barriers” – and allow your team the freedom to make decisions that affect their day to day operations.  In this new organizational structure, where teams are more self-directed and self-empowered, your job is to ensure that every team member is empowered to remove the barriers.  Certainly, there are some decisions that can only be made by leaders but there are a plethora of decisions that employees can make – decisions that remove barriers to their providing value and achieving the goals of their job and team.

 Some of the barriers include:  out-dated policies that need to be re-written and communicated, not having the right training and educational opportunities, or artificial barriers that could encompass wrong assumptions and beliefs about their own ability to make decisions or what the “traditional” management to employee hierarchy rewarded in the past.

 So here’s a question – what do you need to do as a manager to educate your team to remove their own barriers?  What barrier do you need to remove as a manager? Or here’s a penetrating question – are you the barrier?

Is Management Dead? – Part 4 – (Seeing things through the eyes of……)

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As organizations get more and more team-focused and collaborative – employees and managers need to learn the skill of “seeing things from the viewpoint” of the other person.  How many times have you been in a conflict with someone else, only to discover, much to your amazement, how seemingly innocent things you did were misconstrued and interpreted?    The following “Ladder of Inference” was initially developed by Chris Argyris, and subsequently presented in Peter Senge’s “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization.”

The ladder of inference begins with real data and experience – but how quickly we can move up the ladder to selected data and experience to Assigning meaning to make assumptions to Reaching conclusions to Forming beliefs that all ultimately affects our Actions.   If we are not careful, we can move up the ladder within seconds!

Next time you find yourself making a quick assumption, hasty judgment, or a powerful belief about someone in your organization – take a few moments and think “How does this situation look like from that person’s perspective?”  And when you are with that person, ask more questions and listen, as opposed to making declarative statements.