Leadership Solutions

Leadership: How to End a Conversation

We're eating breakfast at a professional meeting.

And he asked me what I do.

So I told him that I was a professional meeting facilitator.

And he asked, "What is the biggest mistake people make in meetings?"

So I said, "They call a meeting expecting that people from different parts of an organization will come together with a common understanding of a goal that no one thought of."

And he said, "Is that a problem?"

And before I could say, "yes" he turned away to talk with the person on his right.

End of conversation.

Hey! I wish it were otherwise.

Really.

I wish we could obtain results without knowing what they are.

I also wish we could wake up with a million dollars under our pillow. Or a basket full of gold eggs on our doorstep. Or a stocking filled with Apple stock options hanging from our mantle.

But in the meantime, if you work for a real business in the real world you'll have to set a real goal for your meetings.

Of course, setting a goal may seem like a daunting task.

So call me. I'll show you how to make it easy.

Then you'll have something to talk about the next time we meet.

Key Point: A meeting without a goal is a journey without a destination.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300
 

PS: My workshop on Effective Meetings makes a nice holiday gift. Buy one for your department.
 

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: What's in Your Meeting?

Meetings have one or the other of these.

They either have words or ideas.

Recall a meeting that was full of words. What happened? For example, did people tell stories? Entertain with jokes? Make excuses? Criticize each other? Babble away, searching for a complete sentence?

Notice that none of these help anyone, except perhaps the person who is sending out the fog of words.

Which makes us wonder, why would anyone want to fill a meeting with words?

The answer is: words are safe. They prevent action. They keep things the same. They provide a wonderful refuge for the timid who want to avoid being challenged.

Ideas, however, are different.

Ideas are dynamic.

Ideas lead to change. Ideas make people think. Ideas start dialogue.

And then dialogue takes people on a wonderful intellectual adventure of exploration, learning, and play.

Thus the people who are frightened by brilliance, hold nice dull meetings where everyone trades words.

Of course, there is good news here. We don't need a meeting to vent words.

Really.

People can simply sit in their office and talk. Or stand on a street corner if they want an audience.

Then everyone else can spend their time working on tasks that make money for the business.

Key Point: Design meetings to exchange ideas. Your stockholders will thank you.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300
 

PS: My workshop on meetings shows how to encourage and work with ideas.
 

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: Beyond Goals

Let's suppose that you decided to hold a meeting to resolve a complex issue.

Once you have written out the goal for the meeting, what's the next step?

Unpack the goal.

Here's how.

1) Divide the goal into its parts.

If the goal requires a sequence of steps, what are they? If the goal represents an achievement that can be measured, what are the different levels of success. For example, if your intended end point is a 5% increase in productivity, would 4% be acceptable? How about 3%? And so on.

Then prioritize the parts. For example, what if you could complete only half of the steps in your plan? How many steps are essential? How many would be acceptable? Similarly, what if you could achieve only a 3.5% increase in productivity? And so on.

This helps you understand your limits if negotiation is involved in reaching your goal. You'll be more successful if you know this, rather than having to invent answers during the meeting.

2) Define success.

That is, how will you know that you gained what you wanted? Could your goal relate to something more important? If so, what is it? And what else might you need in order to obtain that larger achievement?

For example, suppose you want to increase productivity by 5%. Why? Perhaps, your real goal is to increase cash flow. If so, by how much? And then, how else could you increase cash flow? Could you, for example, reduce expenses? Could you increase prices?

Notice that such questions will help you understand the full spectrum of what represents the gain that you're seeking by holding this meeting.

3) Anticipate progress.

It is unlikely that everyone who comes to your meeting will agree with you. If so, why? What might they want to accomplish during your meeting? What constraints might limit their options? What resources might they have that could be added to a possible agreement?

These questions help you anticipate the flow of the meeting as it works toward accomplishing your goal. Knowing this increases your chances of obtaining a result that everyone supports.

Admittedly, unpacking goals can be a complex task. It's worth the time, however, because it gives you the advantage of being prepared. And this matters because the most prepared person often gains the most.

Key Point: Complex issues require advanced levels of preparation.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300
 

PS: My workshop on Effective Meetings shows how to make methodical progress in identifying critical needs.

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: Time to Celebrate

Good news!

I passed the re-certification for Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) by the International Association of Facilitators (IAF).

This was far from trivial because the IAF has rigorous requirements for the CPF.

First, they award their CPF designation after passing a skill-based assessment. Candidates must submit a 2,500 word application, which contains extensive descriptions of their approach, philosophy, and experience as a meeting facilitator. Then they must pass two interview exams and successfully conduct a demonstration meeting.

After that, every three years, members with a CPF must apply for re-certification. This involves submitting a 1,500 word application that contains a description of what they learned since earning the CPF. There is also a $350 processing fee for this.

I spent a week writing this report in late August of this year. (I also submitted a proposal for a facilitation project and filled out an application for a professional directory. It was a busy week.)

Completing this report was a top priority for me at that time. There are only nine facilitators in California who have earned a CPF, and I wanted to keep my certification current. It's a prime differentiation in my market.

Here is a summary of the three key points from my report.

1) All the good practices that I have used to help clients obtain results in meetings still apply. Specifically, an effective meeting is built upon a safe environment and a fair process.

2) Fear causes (or attracts) exactly what the person fears. Thus, leaders avoid causing or permitting fear in their meetings. They want people to focus on finding the best solutions for their goals.

3) A meeting is a microcosm of life. Thus, a successful meeting requires all of the skills expected of an effective leader.

Key Point: When you want results, work with an expert.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: What If You're Too Busy?

Let's suppose that you're too busy to prepare an agenda. What should you do?

The answer is simple: Cancel the meeting.

Here's why:

1) Bad Impression.

An unplanned meeting shows an inability to plan. This could ruin a career if such a failing became a personal brand within an organization. Many executives use a person's ability to lead a meeting as a basis for awarding promotions. Thus, it's unlikely that top executives would trust larger responsibilities to someone who was unable to manage a small activity such as a meeting.

2) Wrong Result.

When people are stuck without a plan, they drift. Then they feel frustrated. This leads to anger, and people never make wise decisions when they're mad. Thus, any decision will probably be a bad one -- incomplete, inappropriate, or impossible.

3) Cause Problems.

When people feel threatened, as they will in a meeting without direction, they attempt to protect themselves. They do this by either over performing or under performing. Either of these leads to mistakes. They say dumb things. They hurt each other's feelings. Or they avoid saying anything. All of this damages the relationships necessary for effective cooperation after the meeting. The result is problems in other work areas.

4) Cost Money.

People are hired to work on tasks that move a business forward. No one is hired to sit in a conference room arguing over what they should be talking about. Thus, time spent in a bad meeting prevents people from working on things that make money for the business.

Of course, there is an exception to the first point.

If you work for a business where no one knows how to hold an effective meeting, a bad meeting may appear normal. Then people can be promoted for the wrong reasons.

In that case, be warned. Such an organization has a limited future.

There are two options if this describes your organization:

1) Save the business. Buy a workshop that shows people how to hold better, effective meetings.

2) Leave.

Key Point: If you're too busy to plan, then you're too busy to deal with the problems that follow.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

PS: My workshop on Effective Meetings shows practical techniques that work.

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: Three Questions

You can plan an effective meeting if you answer these three questions.

They are:

1) What?

This question expands into: What is the vision for the project? What result do you want from the meeting? What do you want to change, fix, or resolve? What do you want people to do after the meeting?

All of this is summed up in a statement of the goal for the meeting.

2) Why?

This question asks: What is the purpose of the meeting? What is the benefit of having the result? Why should anyone care about this meeting?

All of this is summed up in a statement of the purpose (or outcome) for the meeting.

3 How?

This question asks for the steps that will be taken to accomplish the goal. Ideally, this includes a time budget, descriptions of the process, and the names of the people responsible for key roles in each step.

All of this is summed up in the agenda.

Once you have these three answers, review them to make sure that they represent the result that you want from the meeting. Then send copies of them (i.e., the compete agenda) to the attendees at least a day before the meeting.

Key Point: A meeting is a business project and should be planned like one.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: The Meeting

The donuts are gone

                        and

the coffee is cold

but the boredom

                  continues.

My brain

            escaped

         hours ago

and refuses to return.

So I’m drawing

   doodles

while someone

                  stands

   at the projector

             mumbling

in a monotone

about a slide

      no one

            can read.

Before this we

discussed

            something

that must have been

   important

because everyone

                  had

billions of reasons

      why

it wouldn’t

            work.

I just wish

   there were a less

                     painful

way to avoid the job

   I was hired to do.

- - -
  

From Crackers

Key Point: Bad meetings can be a poetic waste of time.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: How Would You Fix This?

Let’s begin with a basic cultural analysis of something simple, such as late arrivals at meetings.

Here are the results in an outline format.

Current Culture

People arrive ten to fifteen minutes late for meetings.

Ideal Culture

People arrive five minutes before the meeting starts.

Driving Forces
 

People arrive late because: 

• Everyone else is late.
• They resent attending meetings that accomplish little.
• Sequential meetings make it impossible to be on time for the next meeting.

Advantages of being late:

• The individual gains prominence by being the last to arrive
• Being late demonstrates independence
• The time between meetings is used attend to urgent matters

Disadvantages of being late:

• None

Advantages of arriving on time:

• None

Disadvantages of arriving on time:

• Wastes time waiting for the meeting to start
• Invites ridicule from peers

Other considerations:

• Everyone knows that arriving on time is the correct thing to do.
• No one has ever told the employees that arriving on time was expected or important.
• Everyone has the necessary skills (ability to read a clock), resources (access to clocks), and tools (a watch) to arrive on time.

Suppose that you were in charge of this organization. How would you fix this?

Key Point: Even simple activities can have complex explanations.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: Just How Much Is 20%?

Did you know that bad meetings are common?

"So, what else is new?" you yawn.

Well, my surveys have shown that businesses waste 20% of their professional pay roll on bad meetings.

"Big deal. Who cares about 20% of anything?"

Okay, consider this:

Every week your managers miss a full day's work. And you're paying for that.

"What!?! That's a lot of money."

So, here's a solution. Pay everyone for a 4-day workweek.

"That's a stupid idea. They'd quit if I did that."

I didn't say it was the only solution. Here's a better idea: Buy a workshop that shows them how to hold effective meetings. Then you can get your money's worth from your payroll.

"So what does the workshop cost?"

Less than you're paying for two, maybe three, bad meetings.

"Really? Where can I get such a workshop?"

Call me.

Key Point: Bad meetings are expensive.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin

Leadership: The Great Food Dilemma

What happens when you serve food in a meeting?

As you can see in the photo below, they eat the food.

- - -

- - -

In fact, if you were watching this meeting, you would notice a lot more chewing than working.

As you might expect, the people in your office are the same.

Okay, there's one important difference (besides the hair): people excel at pretending to work, even when their minds are busy thinking about other things, such as the soft creamy sweet taste of a yummy donut.

The point is: Food served during a meeting is distracting. And that takes the edge off of the group's performance.

Sure, some people will claim that they can do both.

So, imagine your reaction if your favorite sports team showed up holding donuts. -- Chomp chomp, oops, the other team just scored. Well, at least I got my donut. Chomp chomp.

Or, imagine your CEO's reaction upon walking into one of your meetings  -- Chomp chomp, oops, the competition just gained a point on us. Well, at least I got my donut. Chomp chomp.

In either case, food and work don't mix.

Remember, you're holding a meeting, not hosting a party.

Key Point: Serve food after they finish the work.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin