The Politics of Meetings, part 4

There are aspects to every meeting which go beyond the typical literature on conducting effective meetings.  It is important to make sure you have an agenda, have invited the right people to the meeting and be sure to define the take aways along with the responsible parties.   

      But there is more to a meeting than that.  So, this series of posts will deal with what I call the Politics of Meetings.  Some have an intuitive grasp of these principles, but most never quite understand there is much more going on, some of which can have serious implications for your ability to rise within the organization. These will not appear in any specific order.

      7.  Relating to others in meetings:

a.       Your skill in personal dynamics is probably the most important ingredient you bring to any meeting .

b.      Always be aware of your own emotions and make sure to keep them under control.  It is OK to express strong emotions, however, defensiveness or anger directed toward another individual will not serve you well in the long-run and maybe not in the immediate.

c.       Learn to be aware of the subtle clues of other’s emotional state and recognize when they are feeling threatened or becoming angry.  Practice strategies for defusing potentially problematic emotional build up.  These might include:  an obviously non-related comment or personal story, re-focus on the issue (instead of the emotion), a (deserved) compliment of the other’s contribution to this point, etc.

d.      Always treat others with respect, regardless of whether or not you like them or feel they are competent.  You won’t always like everyone you work with and there will even be times when you will feel some of your co-workers may not be competent for the position they hold; but everyone deserves to be treated with respect.  This applies when talking directly to them and when talking to others – ALWAYS TREAT OTHERS WITH RESPECT even when they are not in the room.

e.      Never let anger push you to a statement or response which will destroy a working relationship.  If such a break must occur, make sure it is made with both sides of your brain and not a purely emotional response.

f.        If you are the object of a personal attack:  a) take a deep breath (this oxygenates your brain and helps you think more clearly, b) pose a reflective question such as “It feels to me that you are attacking me personally about this issue, is that the case and if so why?”  This usually diverts the attack back to the issue, however, if not, listen to what is said and reply with something like this:  “I can see your point and I will definitely think about what you have said.”  Then intentionally refocus the conversation back to the issue.

Politics of Meetings, part 3

There are aspects to every meeting which go beyond the typical literature on conducting effective meetings.  It is important to make sure you have an agenda, have invited the right people to the meeting and be sure to define the take aways along with the responsible parties.   

      But there is more to a meeting than that.  So, this series of posts will deal with what I call the Politics of Meetings.  Some have an intuitive grasp of these principles, but most never quite understand there is much more going on, some of which can have serious implications for your ability to rise within the organization. These will not appear in any specific order.

5     5.  What you write

Bring something to write on and take notes.  This will serve four purposes:

                                                               i.      It will remind you of what was discussed if you need to look back.

                                                             ii.      It will provide you a space to record off-shoots from the conversation which need to be followed-up.

                                                            iii.      It will send a clear message that you are engaged.

                                                           iv.      It will allow you to track assignments and take-away actions.  It is prudent to record not only those assigned to you but to others as well.  This allows you to keep in mind the broader picture and offer assistance if possible.  Your assignments should be transferred to your project list as soon as you return to your office along with timelines for completion established.

6.  What you say depends upon what you hear and what you know.

                                    Engaging in the conversation requires active listening skills and focused attention, as well as an open mind to diverse possibilities.  Those who aspire to leadership should be especially attentive to engaging in the conversation.  Here are some considerations.

                                                               i.      If you don’t understand something ask a clarifying question such as “This is what I think you said/mean ___, is that correct?”  This can be easily overused so try to keep your usage of clarifying questions to one per meeting or you risk giving the impression that you are incompetent or haven’t been paying attention.

                                                             ii.      If you have something which either clarifies the discussion or adds to the discussion, make your statement, but be careful not to dominate the conversation.

                                                            iii.      If you disagree with a point that has been put forth, it is appropriate to state that, using terminology which focuses on the issue and not personality, e.g. “I have a different perspective on that,” or “I’m not sure I agree with you for this reason ___.”  Keep in mind that if you disagree, but say nothing, you are tacitly agreeing and will be ethically required to support the result, so speak up if you disagree.

                                                           iv.      If you agree, let that be known by body language or comment.  If your agreement is based on different factors than those already expressed, state those factors, e.g. “I support the direction we are going but for different reasons ___.”

                                                             v.      Before speaking THINK about the ramifications of what is being discussed.  Even if the solution is not the direction you would have chosen, will it accomplish the same ends?  Are there any ethical consideration?  There is usually more than one way to accomplish the same task; don’t become so hidebound that you are unable to see and accept reasonable alternatives.

Politics of Meetings, part 2

There are aspects to every meeting which go beyond the typical literature on conducting effective meetings.  It is important to make sure you have an agenda, have invited the right people to the meeting and be sure to define the take aways along with the responsible parties.   

      But there is more to a meeting than that.  So, this series of posts will deal with what I call the Politics of Meetings.  Some have an intuitive grasp of these principles, but most never quite understand there is much more going on, some of which can have serious implications for your ability to rise within the organization. These will not appear in any specific order.

     

     2.  What you wear, even to meetings, can make a difference in how you are perceived and how your comments are received.

      The basic guideline here is to dress at your level of aspiration.  If you aspire to be a manager, dress like a manager in your organization dresses.  If you aspire to be the CEO, dress like the CEO.  This applies in most situations, even casual day, if your organization has such a day.  A radical departure from the cultural norm can draw more attention to your behavior than to your comments, perhaps in a prejudicial way which can lessen your influence.  This might be a plus if done well and with class and professionalism, but it is more often a negative.

      3.  What you drink/eat

      This is not always a factor, but it can be, depending upon the culture of your organization.  Be sensitive to the culture.  It is OK to push beyond the boundaries to some degree.  A radical departure from the cultural norm can draw more attention to your behavior than to your comments, perhaps in a prejudicial way which can lessen your influence.  Eating to excess is always a bad idea.

      4.  Who you look at

      This is one of the most interesting aspects of meetings: determining who is really in charge and where the influence resides.  Until you have a good grasp of the relationships of those attending the meeting, take time to observe where people direct their eyes during the meeting.  Are they looking at the speaker, or at someone else to see how they are reacting to the speaker?  When they speak, to whom do they direct the majority of their eye contact; to the leader or to someone else within the group.  The individual to whom most people look, especially when it is time for a decision, is the real leader of the group, regardless of position.

      What does this mean for you?  Make sure you acknowledge both the positional leader and the unofficial leader when making comments by appropriate eye contact, not forgetting the rest of the group in the process.

Politics of Meetings - part 1

There are aspects to every meeting which go beyond the typical literature on conducting effective meetings.  It is important to make sure you have an agenda, have invited the right people to the meeting and be sure to define the take aways along with the responsible parties.   

      But there is more to a meeting than that.  So, this series of posts will deal with what I call the Politics of Meetings.  Some have an intuitive grasp of these principles, but most never quite understand there is much more going on, some of which can have serious implications for your ability to rise within the organization. These will not appear in any specific order.     

1.   Where you sit can make a difference. 

a.       Are you leading the meeting?  Do you want to establish a clear sense of who is in charge?  Then sit at the head of the table in the seat most obviously associated with the leader.  If you want to establish an atmosphere of collaboration, choose a central seat along the side of the table where you can get good eye contact.  Keep this in mind, if you are the leader of the organization, where ever you sit is the “head” chair so don’t feel bound to sit in the same place, allow the focus of the meeting to guide your selection.

b.      If you are not the leader you need to ask yourself what your personal contribution to the meeting is likely to be AND your personal goals within the organization, i.e. how ambitious are you?  If you are ambitious but have nothing relevant to contribute, sitting close to the leader makes you look like a “suck-up,” instead sit about half-way from the leader and the end of the table.  If you aren’t all that ambitious but you do have relevant information, sit closer, if not sit farther.  In other words position yourself so that you can be seen as putting the good of the organization ahead of your personal preferences.

4 Reasons We Struggle with Ethics - LINK

http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/2013/04/4_reasons_we_struggle_with_eth.html

This blog post on Leadership Now describes four reasons we struggle with ethics:

We want it now
We think our situation is different
We look for shortcuts
We think ethics is about rules

This is a short post but definitely a good read, and probably one that may remind you of things you need to be reminded about.

iPad - making it a business tool - part 4

I know in part 3 of this series I talked about cloud storage which I feel is important.

In this post I want to focus on a specific type of application which could be technically considered a cloud storage application, but in practical usage it is really one of the things which makes mobile devices amazing and true functionality across platform possible.

The type of application I'm talking about is a data aggregator.  In case you don't recognize what that means, I'm sure you will recognize some of the names in this list of applications below:

• Evernote
• SpringPad
• Catch
• Live Binders
• Pearltrees
• Pinterest

Each has a slightly different take on how to aggregate data, but the important point is that with these programs you can store all kinds of documents, spreadsheets, pdfs, pictures, audio, video, basically anything, in a place where you can easily search it, by key tag or title, or text, and find what you are looking for.  You can sort it into folders or keep all the files in one large list.  It doesn't matter, because you can always find what you are looking for.  And, at least in the case of Evernote, there are plugins for Outlook and your web browser which makes it incredibly easy to add emails and web pages to this aggregator.  Using another service found at www.ifttt.com I can set up automatic clipping of certain bogs to come into a specific folder in my Evernote I've titled Web Articles.

Most of these are free in their basic version, which is typically enough.  The thing which impresses me is that I can store key pieces of my life across my entire life and still have access to it, albeit I typically have to have a live internet connection to retrieve data, at least the first time.

Most of these applications cross platforms from PC, to iPad, to Android so that what is stored on one platform is available on the others as well.

You want to think of this like a Portfolio of information which you want to keep track of for the long haul, as well as storing other, more short-term information as well.

Another application which is somewhat similar that I've just started using is Google Keep.  So far, I'm finding this the perfect solution for short-term notes, lists, and reminders.

Find the one that is right for you - and then discipline yourself to use it - you will be pleased with the result.