Research shows that meetings have increased in length and frequency over the past 50 years, to the point where executives spend an average of nearly 23 hours a week in them, up from less than 10 hours in the 1960s.
Even with the coronavirus pandemic, meetings are still happening. The meetings just shifted from offline to online.
Your role as a leader is more important than ever to communicate effectively and move what you see as possible into action through each meeting. What most leaders do, however, is hold meetings that do nothing to address the various ways that people innately process information or learn ways to turn possibility into action.
Far too often, meeting leaders make it all about themselves, when it’s really about stepping into the possibilities and enrolling others into that possibility. As a meeting leader, your job is to keep your audience engaged.
To keep them engaged, keep in mind that everyone has a unique way they learn. When you discover how your audience learns, you can facilitate meetings, no matter how large or small, that are effective and inspire others into action.
For example, if your team is made up of people who are hardwired to learn by trial and error, they also like to put their thumbprint on ideas to make it their own. If you are talking non-stop, giving a lot of information, and telling them what to do your message or ideas will fall flat.
Your role as a leader is to shape each meeting so that your audience connects with your content. In this case, the leader should prepare an interactive meeting where the audience can actively participate and provide their input. Ask thought-provoking questions and have your team brainstorm new possibilities.
Good leaders don’t always show up with what they think is the answer. They engage others in the process.
Becoming a meeting master starts with understanding your human wiring and that of others. Human wiring is at the heart of all communication.
About
Lisa Mininni is the best selling author of Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change and President, Excellerate Associates, a business mentoring, and leadership/organizational development company. She is also the Founder of the Business Innovation Lab, an 8100 square foot coworking and conference facility in Livonia, Michigan.
For upcoming events on human wiring, visit https://www.excellerateassociates.com/events
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