It's OK to hate meetings. It's not OK to hate meetings while at the same time doing the very things that make them so unproductive and hateful. last time we examined some meeting patterns that distract us by creating or contributing to toxic conflict. This Part II explores distractions that waste time through irrelevance or by hijacking the meeting agenda to personal ends.
- Axe grinding
- To advance a previously blocked project of their own, or to inject an I-told-you-so, some make contributions that have the not-so-hidden purpose of advancing their previously blocked projects. The group must then knock down this obstacle before it can begin problem solving.
- Horn-blowing
- Horn-blowing is making a contribution that reminds the group of something the horn-blower considers to have been his or her own personal achievement. See Backdoor Bragging.
- Rhetorical fallacies
- Rhetorical fallacies are errors of logic, used intentionally or not, that cause the group to come to erroneous conclusions unknowingly. There are dozens of different fallacies. Read about a few of the more common rhetorical fallacies.
- Electronic fiddling around
- If you want meetings to be worthwhile, give them your full attention. Composing or reading mail, texting, tweeting, surfing, or other forms of electronic fiddling around can cause us to lose contact with the discussion. Follow the chainsaw rule: If you can't do it while operating a chainsaw, don't do it while attending a meeting.
- Meta-discussion
- As a group is discussing several related issues, it might slide into a discussion of the order of discussing the issues, without really making a conscious choice to discuss the discussion. Any conscious choice is more likely to lead to a productive outcome.Follow the chainsaw rule:
If you can't do it while
operating a chainsaw, don't
do it while attending
a meeting - Inappropriate problem solving
- Once the group identifies a problem, the temptation to dive into solving it is almost irresistible, even if complete information is lacking, or the group doesn't own the problem, or critical people are not in attendance. See "The Solving Lamp Is Lit," Point Lookout for September 6, 2006, for more.
- Optimization
- Even when we're solving a problem that is ours to solve, and even when we have the people and information we need, we can be distracted by the urge to solve it in an optimal way. Most of the problems modern organizations face don't actually have optimal solutions. Solutions have strengths and weaknesses, depending on our goals. There usually is no single best way. See "Holey Grails," Point Lookout for October 23, 2002, for more.
- Meta-optimization
- Optimization, described above, entails discussing the best way to do something. Meta-optimization is a discussion of the best way to discuss optimizing something. A group that regularly gets so distracted that it enters a meta-optimization discussion is a group in need of distraction training.
One key to eliminating these distractions is making everyone aware of them. Pass this list around and see what happens. First in this series Top Next Issue
Do you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!
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Related articles
More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:
- Keep a Not-To-Do List
- Unless you execute all your action items immediately, they probably end up on your To-Do list. Since
they're a source of stress, you'll feel better if you can find a way to avoid acquiring them. Having
a Not-To-Do list reminds you that some things are really not your problem.
- In the Groove
- Under stress, we sometimes make choices that we later regret. And we wonder, "Will I ever learn?"
Fortunately, the problem usually isn't a failure to learn. Changing just takes practice.
- Be With the Real
- When the stream of unimportant events and concerns reaches a high enough tempo, we can become so transfixed
that we lose awareness of the real and the important. Here are some suggestions for being with the Real.
- Paid-Time-Off Risks
- Associated with the trend to a single pool of paid time off from separate categories for vacation, sick
time, and personal days are what might be called paid-time-off risks. If your team must meet customer
expectations or a schedule of deliverables, managing paid-time-off risks can be important.
- Ten-Minute Training
- Despite decades of evolution of technology-assisted workplace learning, instructor-led classroom formats
remain the most popular and effective. Now perhaps videoconferencing can help to achieve that effectiveness
at lower cost.
See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness, Effective Meetings and Conflict Management for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
- Coming May 8: Antipatterns for Time-Constrained Communication: 3
- Recognizing just a few patterns that can lead to miscommunication can reduce the incidence of problems. Here is Part 3 of a collection of antipatterns that arise in technical communication under time pressure, emphasizing past experiences of participants. Available here and by RSS on May 8.
- And on May 15: Should I Write or Should I Call?
- After we recognize the need to contact a colleague or colleagues to work out a way to move forward, we next must decide how to make contact. Phone? Videoconference? Text message? There are some simple criteria that can help with such decisions. Available here and by RSS on May 15.
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