Yes! It was time for the eleventh most exciting moment of the week.
I really, really look forward to the teams weekly meetings. I love them.
There’s just so many reasons why:
We never, ever start on time
Simon normally falls asleep
Everyone looks down at a printed report in order to avoid eye contact with each other
John is always late because he’s like so important
We all take a turn to read a couple of bullet points on the printed sheet related to what we individually were working on
Jane goes on more than she needs to
No-one really wants to be there
Tom constantly checks his phone before and after his turn (and sometimes during)
No-one asks anyone else questions
There is always a fight to avoid sitting next to Stinky Pete
Everyone tries to out-acronym each other
It’s always the same
It’s not clear what information is new, important or needs action
The boss lady talks over people at regular intervals
No-one understands Deepti
People say what they think other people want to hear, rather than the truth
Occasionally there is a mystery guest in the room who is not introduced, doesn’t speak and is then never seen again
I come out of it none the wiser from when it began
Ahhh… – I already can’t wait till the next one.
I mean imagine how dysfunctional it would be if:
The meetings were not run at a set time but happened as often or as in-frequently as needed
It started on time
We focused on sharing new or critically important information
Information was circulated before the meeting so we could read it and prep questions in advance
No-one took their phones into the meeting room
We constantly tweaked the format in order to make it the most effective
Everyone was present and engaged
Any actions were clearly articulated and owners agreed
Everyone was working together towards a common goal
You left the meeting better informed than before it started
People looked at each other, and maybe even smiled
There was mutual respect shown for the person talking and people waiting till they’d finished speaking before chipping in
Everyone got straight to the point. No bullsh*t
Just imagine…
