Unboss your meeting. I learned that phrase from my recent conversation with Gary Bolles during our recent Virtual LeaderCon. To unboss your meeting means to take the rank and positional power out of the room enough to create high participation meetings. If you ever find that people (or you) are afraid to talk in meetings due to the presence of other people with higher positions, then your meeting may need to be “unbossed.” Here are five ways to do that.
Set Clear Expectations and Ground Rules
If you want more input and ideas from everyone in your meeting, you must make that a stated goal and create “rules of engagement” to set a platform for increased participation. Make it explicit that a collaborative discussion where everyone’s input is valued is the goal. Tell leaders about this goal ahead of time to help them curb their own behavior or natural tendencies. Create a clear agenda for the discussion, sent in advance, so people can come prepared. (Otherwise, the leaders may have an unintended advantage of having thought more about the topic upfront.)
Have a Facilitator
Assign someone to manage the process and flow of the meeting as a facilitator. If possible, make that person someone who doesn’t have positional power. If the meeting topic is significant enough, consider having a neutral facilitator from another group or from outside the organization who can manage the participation levels of all involved.
Frame Situation Clearly
Too often the conversation begins with a topic, rather than a properly framed question or situation. Frame the conversation around the problem, situation or desired outcome. And, as I said above, let people know that before they arrive. If people are clear on what they will be talking about, they will come with ideas that they will be more confident in sharing. If people don’t know until the moment of the conversation, they will be less prepared, and the anxiety of being “put on the spot” – especially if their boss’ boss is in the room – can be overwhelming.
Use the Round-Robin Technique
One approach to getting input from everyone is to go around the room, allowing everyone to share their thoughts, without interruption, one after another. When starting the round-robin, don’t start with a leader, and if possible, have two or three non-leaders (or folks lower organizationally) go first. This will work best if the no interruptions rule is strictly enforced.
Don’t Allow Leaders to Talk at All (For the First Half of the Conversation)
If you make it a ground rule that leaders can’t speak in the first half of the conversation, or only allow them questions to clarify, you will get more ideas from the group. Lest leaders be worried their ideas and perspectives won’t be heard, remind them that the group will come up with some of the same ideas on their own (and now those ideas will likely have broader support). Plus, by sharing later, the leader’s ideas will be better received as well. Leaders often unintentionally influence the outcome of conversation based on their positional power, and this approach can help regulate that situation.
These are five things you can do, starting today, to create high participation meetings – meetings where people feel comfortable and even invited to share their ideas. But these five things alone and done once, won’t be enough. Continue to apply these ideas, and train leaders on these behaviors and you will begin to change the culture and expectations of your meetings for the better. As you do this, you will create more effective meetings with more input and improved outcomes.
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