The 2 Prerequisites to Surviving Long Meetings
The 2 Prerequisites to Surviving Long Meetings
By chris danilo on Aug 28, 2016 07:00 am
How many times have you been in a meeting where you didn't get down to the purpose until halfway through?
How many time have you worked with someone who dances around a question, deflects, or leaves you saying "wait, what did we just talk about for 15 minutes?"
This effect happens in all size organizations, and it's more than just a lack of focus.
It's a lack of discipline and goal-oriented focus.
Sometimes we focus on all the wrong things:
What color should it be?
What should we call it?
Does it need a logo?
You're going to need 2 things to jiu-jitsu your way out of this focus-strangle hold:
1. B.S. Radar
Developing the habit of a consistent, daily, goal-oriented focus will allow you see into this work waste. If you're constantly setting your intentions for the day, meeting, project, etc., it's going to be a lot easier to notice when (you or) others do not.
2. Assertiveness
Impatience isn't always a bad thing. It can be helpful in these instances when you need to supercharge your B.S. Radar. It's how you respond to this impatience that makes all the difference.
If you respond to your team with an abrupt interruption, you might not be conveying the respect that you seek for yourself.
Assertiveness is a stable combination of confidence, calmness, and affirmation.
It doesn't always mean that you'll need everyone to agree with you, that's different. It just means that you're able to convey your opinion without aggression (which is characterized by increased vocal volume, confrontational hand gestures, and threats).
If you're having trouble with Assertiveness, try reading this free Assertiveness-Training Workbook.
If you can calibrate your B.S. Radar to detect a lack of focus and if you can be assertive enough to speak-up and redirect the conversation, you'll be able to consistently move teams and projects forward.
No one else is going to do this for you.
If you want to be a leader, you'll need to start acting like one first.
What tricks or language do you use to do this, now?
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