Page 56 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Never Have To Rely on Your Technical Brilliance • 37

Decide who will run the meeting in advance and how others will get
feedback from the meeting. Free form may be good for brainstorming,
but not for dispensing information.
Physically set up the meeting. Set up the configuration of the room;
where various people should sit to enhance the meeting objective.
If the meeting is in the boss’s office with the boss behind his or her
desk, it will be more intimidating. It might be more effective to go to
another person’s office, a boardroom, or a totally neutral off-site location
(e.g., a restaurant, hotel, etc.).
Consider the time of day when people are there emotionally and intel-
lectually. If you’re going to “come down on people,” do it at the end of the
day so that they can go home and think about it. If you’re going to praise
them, do it first thing in the morning so that they are in a good mood all day.
Start and end on time.
Seek opportunities to build attendees’ self-esteem. You won’t get
cooperation if you put people down in front of others or put them down
period. Use humor. Humor relaxes people and eases candid communi-
cation. A serious discussion can be equally effective if an attitude of good
cheer is maintained.
And finally, make the meeting quick; don’t let it drag on.
Be a good meeting participant too. You’re there for one reason, and
that is to listen and contribute. It’s a mistake to just sit there and “take
things in.” Your involvement can be as simple as a head bob, a “Good
point,” or a comment like, “Tell me more about . . .,” for example, every
15 minutes or so. This doesn’t mean that you should interrupt. When you
contribute, do it at a moment when you aren’t talking over someone else’s
words or cutting them off. Basic courtesy is noticed.
Contributing does not mean dominating, hogging attention, or grand-
standing. When you ask questions, you contribute; when you pontificate,
you look silly, waste everyone’s time, appear arrogant, and learn nothing.
Don’t scrunch and hunch. You will appear bored, tired, lacking in
energy, lacking in support, out of it, and not a team player. Sit up straight
(it will help your energy), and keep a relaxed expression on your face.
Relax your hands, and sit asymmetrically with your upper body.
Don’t fiddle, squirm, or play with your pen, coffee cup, etc. Don’t touch
yourself or pick imaginary or real stuff off your clothes or your body. You