
A hot potato. Photo by Renee Comet, courtesy the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
When we complain that meetings are boring, time-wasting, maddening, or frustrating, it might help to check first about the roles we play ourselves. There are dozens of tactics and ploys, which I've been collecting over the years. Here's the second installment of a little catalog of the more common ones. See "Games for Meetings: I," Point Lookout for February 12, 2003, or "Games for Meetings: III," Point Lookout for March 19, 2003, for more.
- PowerGeek
- See how good I am at manipulating PowerPoint in arcane, undocumented ways.
- Animations, builds, video, audio, and artwork might have legitimate uses, but sometimes we go way too far. When we abuse PowerPoint's abilities, we not only waste our own time, but we also undercut our own messages. If you find yourself doing this sort of thing, ask yourself why you thought it was a good idea. More at "Think Before You PowerPoint," Point Lookout for January 2, 2002.
- Techno-Farce
- Let's make our networked laptops display the slides so we don't have to look up at the projection screen — or at each other.
- For those blessed with the necessary infrastructure, networking audience laptops to display the speaker's slides can be useful, especially for remote audiences. But when a projection screen suffices, use it. The group will stay more connected.
- Pretend
- You think I'm looking at your slides on my laptop, but I'm actually txting the prsn sttg nx 2 me. [Note]
- One of the risks of the networked laptop presentation is that people might find alternative ways to pass the time. As the presenter, be aware of this risk. As a member of the audience, remember that you can be found out.
- Not Me
- I didn't have anything to do with that horrible disaster.
- The old pass-the-buck ploy. If this happens frequently, it could be a sign that you live in a blame-based environment, and that's an unhealthy place to be. Consider moving on. If you're in a position to effect cultural change, start tracking the incidence of this pattern. It's an indicator of the need for an intervention. See ":wrapquotes" for more.
- Hot Potato
- I don't want to have anything to do with that. Here, you take it.
- When we use this ploy, we might gain temporary advantage, but eventually, we'll get caught holding some other potato. Address the issue directly. Try to find a way to share the unpleasant work or at least, the risk.
- Serial Status Report
- We each report that everything we're responsible for is on track.
- A very wasteful pattern. Instead, compile status from everyone in advance of the meeting, and post or distribute the reports to all concerned. Use meetings to discuss issues, rather than to announce status.
- See No Evil
- Let's all silently agree not to mention the painfully obvious problem(s).
- If the problems are threatening enough, any team will fall into this trap. One way to avoid it: designate someone as "Curmudgeon," with responsibility for asking the embarrassing questions. See "Appreciate Differences," Point Lookout for March 14, 2001.
Which of these do you do? Which can you stop doing? What can you do instead? Keep track of what you see in your meetings, and talk about their costs. More coming in future issues — see "Games for Meetings: III," Point Lookout for March 19, 2003. Send me descriptions of your more delightful discoveries. Top
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Footnotes
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Related articles
More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:
The Mind Reading Trap
- When we think, "Paul doesn't trust me," we could be fooling ourselves into believing that
we can read his mind. Unless he has directly expressed his distrust, we're just guessing, and we can
reach whatever conclusion we wish, unconstrained by reality. In project management, as anywhere else,
that's a recipe for trouble.
Running Your Personal Squirrel Cage
- As Glen rounded the corner behind the old oak, entering the last mile of his morning run, he suddenly
realized that he was thinking about picking up the dry cleaning tomorrow and changing his medical appointment.
Physically, he was jogging in a park, but mentally, he was running in a squirrel cage. How does this
happen? What can we do about it?
Virtual Communications: III
- Participating in or managing a virtual team presents special communications challenges. Here's Part
III of some guidelines for communicating with members of virtual teams.
Workplace Myths: Motivating People
- Up and down the org chart, you can find bits of business wisdom about motivating people. We generally
believe these theories without question. How many of them are true? How many are myths? What are some
of these myths and why do they persist?
False Summits: II
- When climbers encounter "false summits," hope of an early end to the climb comes to an end.
The psychological effects can threaten the morale and even the safety of the climbing party. So it is
in project work.
See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Effective Meetings for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming June 7: Toxic Disrupters: Tactics
- Some people tend to disrupt meetings. Their motives vary, but they use techniques drawn from a limited collection. Examples: they violate norms, demand attention, mess with the agenda, and sow distrust. Response begins with recognizing their tactics. Available here and by RSS on June 7.
And on June 14: Pseudo-Collaborations
- Most workplace collaborations produce results of value. But some collaborations — pseudo-collaborations — are inherently incapable of producing value, due to performance management systems, or lack of authority, or lack of access to information. Available here and by RSS on June 14.
Coaching services
I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenHoWzUJVeioCfozEIner@ChacbnsTPttsdDaRAswloCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.
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