By Sherif Attar
In a world of ever-changing ambiguity and uncertainty, executives have to face two challenges: excellent performance and people development. Where many managers think those endeavours are “competing”, this author believes they are “completing”. GET DOWN TO BUSINESS argues.
Adapted from Juliet Funt, advisor to the Fortune 500
Tracking boredom in meetings reveals so much. If you’re bored in a meeting, it may be unavoidable – simply part of the job. Or, if you let yourself experience it, boredom may become valuable evidence that you’re in the wrong place at a particular moment. When digital multi- tasking is allowed in meetings, we mute this instructive type of boredom. We entertain ourselves with screen time while silencing an entire category of relevant self-inquiry: Why are you bored? Are you the wrong person to be there? Are you just scared to ask not to come?
If you’re sitting in a meeting that feels boring, you will see your situation more clearly. You’ll either determine that you do serve a purpose in this meeting, or you’re clearly neither contributing nor benefiting. When the latter happens, take a strategic pause and say inside your head, “SBH” (shorthand for Shouldn’t Be Here).
Repeat this term to yourself privately throughout the portions of any meeting that feels empty. Hearing this message raises awareness and chips away at costly denial. It builds a critical mass of helpful inner discomfort that eventually spurs action. And not a moment too soon – researches show that a full 30 per cent of meetings feel like they fall in the category of Shouldn’t Be Here.
But isn’t it true that some meetings that feel unimportant, really are? And many meetings feel important but in reality, are not. I observed this in South America at a kickoff event for a global energy firm doing business in 29 countries. Peru was a treat – full of pleasing sights.
Addressing this group, I asked the audience to take a thoughtful pause and raise their hands to self-identify into descending categories of experienced meeting waste. “Who feels 50 per cent of their meeting time is unnecessary?” Up went a chunk of hands. “What about 40 per cent? 30 per cent? 20 per cent?” At this point we’d seen everyone’s hands raised, except for Carl, who ultimately raised his lone, confident hand in my very last category, reporting zero percent of his meetings were unnecessary. It didn’t take long to find out that he was the person who called them all.
We hear more wins from the subtle tool of SBH than almost any other meeting technique. For team members of every level, simple awareness and group review of each person’s Shouldn’t Be Here insights helps us rein in the uncontrolled growth of our meeting patterns. We move from common sense (where we all know many meetings are a waste) to common practice (where we actually cancel or decline attendance at those meetings we don’t belong in). And if too many people are reporting a meeting as SBH, then you know the overall purpose or design of the meeting needs to change.
Meeting organisers, take a pause to go through the following steps.Really think about who is tactically needed at the meeting. Check for inviting people “just in case,” invites that are purely political, or “keeping someone in the loop,”.
People should be invited to meetings if they bring expertise or insight that’s relevant, hold sole authority to make a decision, could learn from participating, or when they represent a population affected by the meeting outcome. And publishing open-source notes after the meeting helps us realise we have two choices in our communications: invite or inform. The availability of open-source notes also greatly relaxes the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) of those not chosen to attend, or maybe even changes it to our kind of FOMO (Finally Obtaining More Oxygen).
To put this framework further into action, take an SBH inventory of your calendar looking back, to learn from what you might have done, and looking forward, to see what actions you might take now.
For questions or suggestions, please send your comments.
Sherif Attar, an independent management consultant/trainer and organisation development authority, delivers seminars in the US, Europe, Middle East and the Far East.
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