Some days you sit in meetings, with deadlines looming and emails piling up, and wonder to yourself, why am I even here? It’s great to have a fun, friendly, and social environment at work, but sometimes it can be a time-suck. Oftentimes meetings take up much of our days, detracting from time that could beRead… Read more »
If I asked you to think through your career and remember notable meetings you attended, ones where ideas were flowing, decisions were made and you left feeling like you and your team really accomplished something…how many come to mind? Now, what if I asked you to recall meetings where no decisions or very little progressRead… Read more »
Everybody loves a good kickoff meeting and a lot of planning goes into making them go well. I agree…a great kickoff meeting gets everything moving in the right direction. However, I think the process should actually be backed up a step. Many times before starting an engagement I will ask for a Pre-Kickoff meeting. TheRead… Read more »
Ever feel like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland frantically rushing around the office exclaiming, “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date/meeting?” Well, what if I told you there’s a way to help alleviate some of that hysteria and cut down meeting times with a little something called “Standing Meetings?” Riding onRead… Read more »
This week, I attended a 3-day federal supervisory/managerial training class on building and sustaining teams. Day 1 began with the facilitator explaining that we were to define our roles in teams behaviorally, by observable or measurable movement or activity. In other words, we were to state the behaviors that we see exhibited in ourselves andRead… Read more »
Are your workplace interactions motivating and engaging? Or stiff and stale? Other than email, in which format do most of your professional interactions take place? Presentations? Status reports? Discussions? Brainstorming sessions? Whatever your answer, ask yourself if the primary formats are particularly engaging or effective. If not, consider the contributions of “liberating structures,” an innovation broughtRead… Read more »
I love the way this video clip portrays some of the communication barriers and group dynamics associated with virtual conferencing. For me, it also calls into question the format of most of our meetings. Virtual meetings often make it easier for more attendees to participate, and as a virtual worker, I get it! But I also haveRead… Read more »
Each of us has different work super powers and often we don’t recognize those powers can enable other employees powers. What I found out was that my skills of keeping airplanes separated, was greater than that. What I was able to do was explain what I find as normal everyday air traffic control stuff, to… Read more »
It’s Friday at work and there is calmness in the air until the bell on your Outlook email begins to ring sounding off the start of your marathon of all day meetings. Meetings can be a great way to share information, connect with colleagues and obtain insight on leadership views when managed effectively. Yet, sometimesRead… Read more »
I just left a meeting and the entire time I wished a meteor would strike the room we were in. How often has that feeling or something similar occurred to you? It seems to be fairly common in my 30 years as a government employee to have felt that way. I think there are meetingsRead… Read more »