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Ray Jorgensen, Ph. D. "Aspiration:A Leadership Capability" 1:28:08 minutes |
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| The New Holy Grail--Engagement at Meetings |
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By Keith Riemer. A Truism is defined as wisdom about life that can be practically applied. The definition of Universal is something that is applicable and understandable at some point in any given person’s life, regardless of cultural circumstance. Communicate is defined as the transfer of information from an entity (human or artifact) to a person. Applying all of this to meetings, it is a universal truism that all learning organizations have meetings where engagement and participation is the ultimate goal. How to encourage employee participation in meetings so that meetings are successful is the difficult part. Many managers say fostering participation and engagement is a major challenge, particularly when attendees are too reserved or timid to speak, making the meeting less productive. A major concern today in all organizations is how to convene meetings and conversations that matter. It is the responsibility of today’s leaders to convene conversations that allow for inclusiveness and that allow for difference. The 5 JLC learning conversational guidelines, used in the context of meetings, allow one to create a safely dangerous space to enable meaningful conversation and allow for inclusiveness of all participants. The guideline of Holding Space for Difference and the practice of STEAR (simplify the agenda, time conversations, engage participants, acknowledge responses, and respond respectfully) allows for creating a safely dangerous space. Practicing the guideline promotes an open exchange of ideas and opinions thus engaging the participants. By practicing the learning conversation guidelines, meeting participants will be more apt to respond and participate at meetings, and to foster and keep the integrity of the conversation. As the Heath brothers proclaim in their book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, “reduce uncertainty and invite engagement”. It is imperative to encourage engagement and participation at meetings, and get participants voices in as soon as possible; otherwise, their voices may never be heard. Lawrence Kellner, CEO of Continental Airlines, implores his people to participate at meetings and share their ideas and opinions. A key lesson he has learned is “the importance of listening, and, in many cases, getting the quiet person who does not necessarily always contribute to speak up.” As a leader, one of the most important changes to an organization is to remove the fear often associated with learning, thus hindering engagement at times. In order to honestly express opinions and ideas, participants must feel secure and safe in their environment. Without this security, meeting members may not risk having the “wrong answer”. Only when they feel safe will participants at meetings expose their own thinking to collective inquiry. Leaders have found that meetings where team members openly communicate on topics and participate in problem solving yields better results than those where participants only sit and listen. There are different levels of participation in meetings; the most desirable is the fully interactive environment. The interchange of ideas and sharing of information will have a positive impact upon the success of any meeting. Encouraging participation and involvement helps to increase the commitment of each member of the group. A committed group of individuals is often a very productive group. Understanding through the JLC lens and practicing the learning conversation guidelines allows for listening for understanding and difference, allows for successful communication and dialogue, and creates a system with integrity and learning, which leads to meaningful discussion and successful meetings. By creating a safely dangerous space through engaging participants, acknowledging responses and responding respectfully, leaders will foster true engagement and productive participation at meetings, thereby creating a successful learning environment. Post Script – Note to Mr. Akio Toyoda – CEO of Toyota Corp. Defective brakes? Defective accelerators? Defective floor mats? “What, me worry?” (apology to Alfred E. Neuman). It is time for the Toyota Corporation, and for Mr. Toyoda himself, to start learning the 5 JLC Learning Conversation Guidelines. The corporate culture of your firm seeking to cover up facts and the absence of a structure to quickly get accurate information to top management hampers accurate and adequate responses. Your company has no two way flow of information and feedback. There has been a breakdown in communication within Toyota, between its D.C. office and Japan headquarters. It appears the D.C. office did not have the information needed to provide to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. Your own company executives say that you have stifled subordinates, especially midlevel managers and even some members of the top management team. Reports have indicated that many of them have opted to stay quiet or filter information so as not to get in the way of what you find important. It is time for you to listen carefully to your top and midlevel management teams, and to respond as quickly as you must to your customers concerns. |
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