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BazzaMcKenzie
Wild colonial man
Joined: Aug 22, 2006
Age: 48
Posts: 3663
Location: the Antipodes
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 Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:30 am Post subject: |
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What's the worst thing about these staff meetings?
Is it possible to improve them?
You may get ideas how from:
| Quote: | http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/mcnulty/2007/03/staff_meetings.html
Are There Any Ways to Improve Staff Meetings?
Posted by Eric McNulty on March 19, 2007 12:44 PM
I’ve been having staff meeting anxiety lately. I have a weekly meeting for my immediate group and what was once a respite for all of us to gather, share, and inform has become a tense and testy hour. The workload has increased and we’re all moving faster than ever. We have some new members on the team. But these alone cannot explain the change.
I remember truly hellish staff meetings from jobs past.... |
| Quote: | http://www.stickyminds.com/sitewide.asp?Function=edetail&ObjectType=COL&ObjectId=6646
How to Improve Meetings When You’re Not in Charge
By Esther Derby
Summary: In my last column, I outlined some ideas for improving the quality of meetings for people who are responsible for the meeting. But what can you do if you have to attend other people’s horrible meetings? Even if you can’t stand up and take control, you can nudge the meeting in the right direction from where you sit. Now that you’re on the edge of your seat, keep reading! |
I also saw an interesting looking book on Amazon "Death by Meeting"
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Meeting-Leadership-Fable-About-Business/dp/0787968056/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product
_________________
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.
Strewth!
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MsTriste
OTS
Joined: Dec 08, 2005
Age: 44
Posts: 3373
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| Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Bazza. Wish I could anonymously send the link to this book to my boss  |
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CaptainMac
Snowy Owl
Joined: Mar 10, 2008
Posts: 158
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:59 am Post subject: |
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I actually like staff meetings and think there should be more of them simply so that issues can be addressed and everyone can be on the same page.
I might be the only one here to admit it, but I enjoy them. I like hearing what the others have to say about certain issues so I can see where my stance on something falls. I also like having the opportunity to ask questions about new items so I can clarify things--especially because speaking up on something new will probably help other people in the process.
My only problem with them is they usually order pizza for them and I'm unable to eat pizza. At least nobody gives me any problems when I whip out a sandwich instead--they probably just think I'm watching my weight. |
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whitelightning777
Butterfly
Joined: Jun 25, 2008
Age: 34
Posts: 12
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| Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Seshat wrote: | Staff meetings are no fun for me either. In my most recent job, I worked as a claims adjuster for an insurance company, and they were big on "Team Meetings" for everything from how the pending claims were going to what theme to have for Halloween. I had two managers and two teams during my brief time with this company.
My first manager was pretty decent. I think she sensed something was "different" about me, but as long as I kept up to speed and did my work, she was cool with my relative quietness during pow-wows at her cubicle. But then she transfered to a different department, and me and the three other girls who worked under her got divided-up to other groups. And unfortunately for me, I got Mr. Gung-Ho Team Player guy as my new manager.
Don't get me wrong, I don't totally want to villify this guy, because a lot of people seemed to like him. But he was so evangelical about the "Team" thing that he and I constantly clashed (and I'm not exactly a confrontational person). I remember this one meeting the group had where we were discussing what was new for the quarter, how last quarter went, claims practices, etc etc. But a couple of days after the meeting Mr. Gung-Ho called me into his cube to talk about "why I didn't contribute". And I was like, "What?!" (Or at least I was thinking that). Seriously, I was a relatively new trainee, and so were two other people in my group, and we were still learning about claims handling. What exactly was I supposed to "contribute"? I was still a n00b, and Mr Gung-Ho was admonishing me for being me. It freaked me out a little, because I really didn't think I'd done anything "wrong". It's not like people weren't aware that I had a reputation for "being quiet".
But it wasn't even that, it was like he took it personally that I didn't have tons to say during the meeting. I'm a listener, that's what I do. I can't help it. Besides, there were other people at the meeting who had been in his group longer and actually did have relevant things to say about business on the floor.
There were many other problems I had with this manager, and he was a big part of what caused me to quit that job. Maybe some day I'll do a whole separate thread on it. Anyway, sorry to go off on a tangent there. OP: I do feel your pain, and I guess my best advice would be to fake interest as best you can, and hopefully you can get a doc's letter to get out of the meetings. One of the things we used to have to do at the insurance company was bring a note pad, so I would always pretend to take notes (even though I didn't need to; I usually just doodled as discreetly as possible to pass the time while I listened  ). |
Hmmmm... why not try to ask exactly 1 question and make exactly 1 comment, all of the time? That way, technically, this team guy can't say you did nothing. Just make up something that is detailed or else vague. |
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forallotherthings
Blue Jay
Joined: Jun 22, 2008
Posts: 76
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| Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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| if meetings are valuable and not just a waste of time to sit and eat cake and complain how there is so much to do whilst you are not even doing it (can you tell ive been to many meetings in the NHS UK people?) they are still horrible but at east i can see why im forced to endure them. |
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