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Paying Attention at Meetings
Assignment:
Help a client group reduce wasted effort and staff complaints about The System.
Project Phase #1:
Act as Silent-Observer-of-Process at their management meeting (14 people, approximately 95.27 minutes) to raise awareness of their unconscious group behaviours and unintended consequences.
Observations, as follows:
- A ratio of nine closed questions (and many unhelpful answers) is asked for every open-ended question. The questioners express frustration about not getting enough of the information they want, fast enough. Those questioned (sometimes with double-barreled or triple-barreled closed questions), appear confused or under interrogation and riled.
- Negligible paraphrasing of long-windedness or differences. Few progress-monitoring summaries of often-meandering dialogue. In the rush to get through the agenda, no opportunities are provided to talk information into place within smaller groups. At times people appear over-loaded or confused by TMUI: Too Much Unsorted Information.
- Problem-solving efforts begin by defining problems as the absence of (very specific) solutions. Then, heated arguments about those and other solutions. Stages of problem definition and the clarification of likely causes are completely by-passed.
Conclusions:
Nothing new, here. This group behaves as other organisations routinely do (in this case at meetings), wasting a great deal of potential energy, blaming one another for the consequences without understanding the causes. They get through the agenda, but at significant cost.
What Should Change?
Constructive listening is the primary skill-set for effective participation in meetings, especially for resolving differences and problems. It facilitates understanding and helps people speak about their needs, interests and concerns with honesty, clarity and self-understanding. These outcomes are wise and sensible precursors of whatever else may be necessary or useful: decisions, plans or actions, for example.
However, virtually every participant in my workplace interpersonal skills-training programmes over the past 25 years or so (at all levels of organisational authority), has been shocked to discover how little real listening they actually do day-to-day and surprised by how much effort it takes.
Like most of us, they would claim to be really good listeners When it's really necessary, but of course they are not. Few people are. Skill means habituated behaviour.
Happily, they quickly learn that simple and very effective improvements can be initiated by re-organising and using more intentionally many of the skills and interpersonal behaviour reference-points they already possess. They are often amazed at how much difference this makes.Where to Start?
Learn how to have informed answers for these questions: How good are your interpersonal skills? How do you know?
(If your answers include, Because no-one complains about me very much, be aware of the absolute unreliability of what you are told by your staff about the quality of your people-skills and supervision practices. (Read more > > > )
If you've not recently undergone a comprehensive analysis of your listening and relationships-management proficiency, we urge you to do so. We produce and employ a number of simple and inexpensive tools for this purpose. Check them out > > >
Follow this link to begin the process of improving your problem-solving practices.© Copyright 2002 - 2007 Tom Watkins Group. All rights reserved.
Select and contact a Mentor if you'd like to discuss these ideas or want support to make progress with your own issues.
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