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.