LEADING PRODUCTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAMS
As in all communication situations, communication purpose and strategy should come first in planning meetings. Given the dominance of meetings in business and how often people complain about them, leaders need to be able to plan and conduct effective, productive meetings. Doing so requires leadership communication skills, and is important in setting precedent for the rest of the organization.However, deciding whether meeting is the best forum for what a leader need to achieve is a very great task. Meetings need to be carefully planned to meet both your interests and the interests of the participants. The leader should think of the objectives of the meetings in advance and be clear about what the meetings is intended to achieve.
In deciding on a meeting, the company’s culture play a crucial role because this will determine the success or otherwise of the meeting. More so, the purpose for business communications which could be to inform, persuade or instruct will determine how well a meeting will achieve its set out goals.Thus,when there is something to communicate and considering a meeting, the overall purpose and objective of the meeting are the first things to be considered. The needs and preferences of the audience also need to be considered. Above all, the company’s culture will go a long way in determining what pattern to adopt in conducting a successful meeting. With all the above issue settled, then one can determine whether a meeting is the best forum for communication.
For a meeting to be productive, the necessary planning process must be conducted; and these include the following:
Clarify purpose and expected outcome.
Determining topics for the agenda.
Select attendees.
Determine the best setting.
Determine the best timing.
Establish needed meeting information.
CONDUCTING A PRODUCTIVE MEETING
Before the commencement of the meeting, announcement should be made of the decision making approach that the leader plan to adopt, clarify leader and attendee roles and responsibilities, and establish meeting ground rules. In addition, the meeting will be more productive if the attendees know and use common problem-solving tools.
In conducting a productive meeting, the following steps should be considered:
Decide on the decision making approach.
Clarify leader and attendee roles and responsibilities.
Establishing meeting ground rules.
Use common problem solving approach.
The common problem-solving approaches that work well in many types of problem-solving meetings are as follows:
1. Brainstoming.
2. Ranking or rating.
3. Sorting by category (logical grouping)
4. Edward de Bono’s six thinking Hats.
5. Opposition analysis.
6. Decision trees.
7. from/to analysis.
8. Force-field analysis.
9. The matrix.
10. Frameworks.
MANAGING MEETING PROBLEMS AND CONFLICTS
In every human relation, problems and conflict abound. A leader will able to stop or at least minimize most of the usual meeting problems and conflict by careful planning and by developing and enforcing ground rules.However,some issues may arise despite the best planning and meeting processes. All meeting leaders and facilitators must be prepared to handle problems in ways that will not interfere with the meeting objectives or these of the broader organization. The primary responsibilities of a meeting leader are to plan the meeting, provide the content, anticipate problems, and ensure process faciliation.Fulfilling the last responsibility may call for the use of a skilled facilitator facilitator primary’s objective is to ensure process problems do not interfere with the success of the meeting. Facilitators help to keep the meeting focused on the objectives and ensure redirection if it gets off track. Skilled facilitator should be preparing to:
Handle some of the common meeting problems.
Manage meeting conflict.
Deal with issues arising from cultural differences
When the common meeting problems turn into direct conflict, perhaps because of personality or factions within the group, facilitators may need to be more aggressive in their tactics. They must be prepared to manage the conflicts and the people involved before they interrupt meeting progress and in some cases even intrude into the overall working environment. Many approaches have been developed for managing conflict. One popular technique often used by negotiators calls on the individuals involved in the conflict to apply levels of assertiveness and cooperation. They can approach the problem by:
Competing.
Compromising.
Collaborating.
Avoiding.
Or, accommodating.
Any of the five modes may be used to allow a meeting to progress.However, collaborating is usually the best choice to manage meeting conflict because it calls on both sides to work together towards a common goal. Both sides can assert their points of view while still cooperating at a high level. Neither side feel as if it is losing anything; thus both sides feel as though they have won, which results in a much more positive atmosphere for meeting. Though compromising allows the meeting to continue as well, it is usually not a choice to use frequently or for long-term conflict. On the surface, a compromise seems to be a win for both sides, but the ability of both sides to assert their opinion is only moderate and the level of cooperation is moderate as well.Therefore, neither sides is likely to feel satisfied by the resolution; they will just accept it .if, however, a compromise is the only way to reach a resolution and will appease most of the group, it is better than the remaining three modes.
Competing, avoiding, and accommodation may be appropriate in certain situations, but they will usually only work as a short-term fix. In the competing mode one party wins, but the other loses.Thus,it frustrates the loser and even affects the others in the meeting as well since they may side with the loser or at least feel sympathy for his or her position.Avoidingis not an optimal approach since the problem is buried and both sides feel frustrated. Neither a side asserts the problems openly, nor does neither cooperate to achieve a solution. Avoiding the problem may work for a short time since it allow the meeting to continue; but in a longer meeting, or in an organizational cotext,avoiding problems will usually result in an explosion or sabotage somewhere down the line.
Finally, in most organizational contexts, accommodating is not a good approach as a long term solution since the level of assertiveness is so low that the conflicting parties may feel as if their opinion are not of value. This approach will allow a meeting to progress since the level of cooperation is high, which will mean the atmosphere of the meeting will not be negatively affected in the short term.also,in some cultural context, cooperation and avoiding conflict may be preferred. Anyone who has to be accommodating too often, however, will become resentful and may eventually withdraw from the group. Facilitators will find that they need to use all these modes at one or the another to keep the meeting moving toward their goal; however, all but collaboration—and, if manage right, compromise—are short-- term, quick fixes. If used over the long-term, they can lead to dissension within an organization or with teams or any group holding a series of meetings.
When considering the amount of time spent on business meetings, then one should conclude that meetings should be an avenue to solve most of the organizational problems.However,given the level of frustration and complains of attendees, then leaders should make a clear definitions of purpose and objectives of meetings a points importance in order for meetings to accomplish it goals.
Endnote
Deborah J.Barrett.
As in all communication situations, communication purpose and strategy should come first in planning meetings. Given the dominance of meetings in business and how often people complain about them, leaders need to be able to plan and conduct effective, productive meetings. Doing so requires leadership communication skills, and is important in setting precedent for the rest of the organization.However, deciding whether meeting is the best forum for what a leader need to achieve is a very great task. Meetings need to be carefully planned to meet both your interests and the interests of the participants. The leader should think of the objectives of the meetings in advance and be clear about what the meetings is intended to achieve.
In deciding on a meeting, the company’s culture play a crucial role because this will determine the success or otherwise of the meeting. More so, the purpose for business communications which could be to inform, persuade or instruct will determine how well a meeting will achieve its set out goals.Thus,when there is something to communicate and considering a meeting, the overall purpose and objective of the meeting are the first things to be considered. The needs and preferences of the audience also need to be considered. Above all, the company’s culture will go a long way in determining what pattern to adopt in conducting a successful meeting. With all the above issue settled, then one can determine whether a meeting is the best forum for communication.
For a meeting to be productive, the necessary planning process must be conducted; and these include the following:
Clarify purpose and expected outcome.
Determining topics for the agenda.
Select attendees.
Determine the best setting.
Determine the best timing.
Establish needed meeting information.
CONDUCTING A PRODUCTIVE MEETING
Before the commencement of the meeting, announcement should be made of the decision making approach that the leader plan to adopt, clarify leader and attendee roles and responsibilities, and establish meeting ground rules. In addition, the meeting will be more productive if the attendees know and use common problem-solving tools.
In conducting a productive meeting, the following steps should be considered:
Decide on the decision making approach.
Clarify leader and attendee roles and responsibilities.
Establishing meeting ground rules.
Use common problem solving approach.
The common problem-solving approaches that work well in many types of problem-solving meetings are as follows:
1. Brainstoming.
2. Ranking or rating.
3. Sorting by category (logical grouping)
4. Edward de Bono’s six thinking Hats.
5. Opposition analysis.
6. Decision trees.
7. from/to analysis.
8. Force-field analysis.
9. The matrix.
10. Frameworks.
MANAGING MEETING PROBLEMS AND CONFLICTS
In every human relation, problems and conflict abound. A leader will able to stop or at least minimize most of the usual meeting problems and conflict by careful planning and by developing and enforcing ground rules.However,some issues may arise despite the best planning and meeting processes. All meeting leaders and facilitators must be prepared to handle problems in ways that will not interfere with the meeting objectives or these of the broader organization. The primary responsibilities of a meeting leader are to plan the meeting, provide the content, anticipate problems, and ensure process faciliation.Fulfilling the last responsibility may call for the use of a skilled facilitator facilitator primary’s objective is to ensure process problems do not interfere with the success of the meeting. Facilitators help to keep the meeting focused on the objectives and ensure redirection if it gets off track. Skilled facilitator should be preparing to:
Handle some of the common meeting problems.
Manage meeting conflict.
Deal with issues arising from cultural differences
When the common meeting problems turn into direct conflict, perhaps because of personality or factions within the group, facilitators may need to be more aggressive in their tactics. They must be prepared to manage the conflicts and the people involved before they interrupt meeting progress and in some cases even intrude into the overall working environment. Many approaches have been developed for managing conflict. One popular technique often used by negotiators calls on the individuals involved in the conflict to apply levels of assertiveness and cooperation. They can approach the problem by:
Competing.
Compromising.
Collaborating.
Avoiding.
Or, accommodating.
Any of the five modes may be used to allow a meeting to progress.However, collaborating is usually the best choice to manage meeting conflict because it calls on both sides to work together towards a common goal. Both sides can assert their points of view while still cooperating at a high level. Neither side feel as if it is losing anything; thus both sides feel as though they have won, which results in a much more positive atmosphere for meeting. Though compromising allows the meeting to continue as well, it is usually not a choice to use frequently or for long-term conflict. On the surface, a compromise seems to be a win for both sides, but the ability of both sides to assert their opinion is only moderate and the level of cooperation is moderate as well.Therefore, neither sides is likely to feel satisfied by the resolution; they will just accept it .if, however, a compromise is the only way to reach a resolution and will appease most of the group, it is better than the remaining three modes.
Competing, avoiding, and accommodation may be appropriate in certain situations, but they will usually only work as a short-term fix. In the competing mode one party wins, but the other loses.Thus,it frustrates the loser and even affects the others in the meeting as well since they may side with the loser or at least feel sympathy for his or her position.Avoidingis not an optimal approach since the problem is buried and both sides feel frustrated. Neither a side asserts the problems openly, nor does neither cooperate to achieve a solution. Avoiding the problem may work for a short time since it allow the meeting to continue; but in a longer meeting, or in an organizational cotext,avoiding problems will usually result in an explosion or sabotage somewhere down the line.
Finally, in most organizational contexts, accommodating is not a good approach as a long term solution since the level of assertiveness is so low that the conflicting parties may feel as if their opinion are not of value. This approach will allow a meeting to progress since the level of cooperation is high, which will mean the atmosphere of the meeting will not be negatively affected in the short term.also,in some cultural context, cooperation and avoiding conflict may be preferred. Anyone who has to be accommodating too often, however, will become resentful and may eventually withdraw from the group. Facilitators will find that they need to use all these modes at one or the another to keep the meeting moving toward their goal; however, all but collaboration—and, if manage right, compromise—are short-- term, quick fixes. If used over the long-term, they can lead to dissension within an organization or with teams or any group holding a series of meetings.
When considering the amount of time spent on business meetings, then one should conclude that meetings should be an avenue to solve most of the organizational problems.However,given the level of frustration and complains of attendees, then leaders should make a clear definitions of purpose and objectives of meetings a points importance in order for meetings to accomplish it goals.
Endnote
Deborah J.Barrett.
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