Encyclopedia of Leadership

HOW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL

“Sometimes the meeting is the message, and accountable results are simply by-products. It is the entirely human

inclination of...managers to want a tribal assembly from time to time—the frequency usually varying according

to the level of managerial anxiety—not only to communicate ideas and problems, but to see the expressions

around the table, (and) to gauge the mood. ...”

—Owen Edwards, UPWARD NOBILITY: HOW TO SUCCEED IN

BUSINESS WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL

How would you summarize or briefly describe the purposes and functions served by your work-

group or team meetings? Consider having the members of your workgroup or team respond

independently to the two questions posed here. After they have done so, discuss their answers

within the workgroup or team, as a way of gaining clarity on meeting purposes and functions.

After members’ responses have been discussed in the group, prioritize them for the group as a

whole. This will be a learning experience for the group, as the purposes and functions served

by workgroup or team meetings are redefined and perhaps even significantly reframed. [☛7.1

Problem Framing]

WEB WORKSHEET

340 SECTION 11 TOOLS FORLEADINGMEETINGS

• Meetings define workgroups and teams.Those present belong; those absent do not. Indeed, meetings are often
  the only occasions when a workgroup or team seems to exist. At other times, it may seem as if people are focusing
  more on their individual roles and projects than on group goals and teamwork.


• Meetings germinate group culture and enable group learning.Knowledge and experience are shared, work
  habits nurtured, influence and power exercised, and ways of understanding and working are established in the
  workgroup or team.


• Meetings clarify collective purpose and focus.In this way, the workgroup gains and maintains power to achieve
  business results. Meetings also help members understand how their work aligns with the work of others in the group
  and with the group’s overall success.


• Meetings support commitment to the group’s purposeand to specific decisions and action plans. Membership
  implies an obligation to support group decisions.


• Meetings demonstrate status.Human nature being what it is, we are often concerned with our status relative to
  others in a group. One’s standing and degree of influence are often displayed in the interactions and decision-
  making processes that take place in meetings.


• Meetings meet a very human need,to be part of a group and communicate with other human beings.

Typical functions of workgroup and team meetings

[☛2.6 Clarifying Purpose]

What purposes are served by our workgroup or team meetings?