Meeting loyalty
"And should there be a sudden loss of consciousness during this meeting, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling." Office humor
"Are we meeting today?" I've heard this often in my years leading and it indicates a few things.
1. We as an organization are not loyal to our meeting rhythm.
2. We as an organization are being managed, not managing a busy schedule.
I'm certainly not one to meet just for the sake of meeting or to conduct a meeting of little value. I'm also aware that sometimes the day, week, or even month is so chaotic, it prevents people from coming together.
What's essential here, is to establish a worthwhile organizational rhythm - meetings, reports, and other activities which are done routinely for the purposes of sharing information, gaining efficiency, synchronizing a team, and accomplishing goals. Specific to meetings, they ought to be well-structured with an agenda, inputs, and outputs which achieve what is mentioned above. Making them valuable and appropriate in length is critical.
Once the meetings are established it's time for loyalty. "Are we meeting today?" is answered with "Of course!" Even if all members, especially the leader are not present, the meeting occurs - without question. Or at least there is a deliberate decision made - the hard right vs. the easy wrong, before the meeting is canceled.
A friend and fellow leader Tony Burgess uses the word rituals to describe the meeting loyalty required to achieve greatness in an organization. Akin to brushing one's teeth or attending church, rituals are something routine, almost subconscious which people - in this case leaders and an organization do to achieve greatness.
Get the meeting right. Make it valuable to people and to the organization, then commit. Give the meeting(s) your loyalty and let everyone know why.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell