Picture yourself entering a corporate meeting, team meeting, or business meeting. There you are sitting in the room, while someone in the "expert" or "boss" chair speaks to you or at you. There you are, not aligned with that person's mission or vision. There you are, feeling apart from the process. There you are, lacking energy and the desire for being there. There you are, hearing what is going wrong and what you or your team or department needs to change or improve. How are you feeling?
Are you feeling a great connection to the meeting? Are you feeling enthusiastic about being in attendance at the meeting? Are you fully present at the meeting? Are you deeply tuned in and listening with your heart and your head? Are you inspired to co-create, participate, and contribute? Or, are you ready to fall asleep, or count the minutes of what you feel is wasted time?
My experience in my two plus decades of being in business and in coaching business clients around the world is that the system of meetings, clearly, must change. Most meetings don't include participant involvement and actually serve to tune people out rather than tune them in, and as a result, the intention of the meeting falls short of its purpose. In other words, they really can be a waste of precious company time.
The process of Meeting Alignment, that we've been teaching companies around the world, has allowed them to use a systematic process that engages people in meetings and creates a desire for them to contribute and fully participate in these business meetings.
The Meeting Alignment Process and the results it creates include:
A desire to co-create: The purpose of a meeting isn't to get across "your" agenda; it shifts to sharing your thoughts and hearing fully the thoughts and ideas of others to co-create the meeting purpose and actions.
Deep tuning in: Most meetings involve people talking and listening to themselves. The Meeting Alignment Process teaches people to fully listen with their hearts and to listen beyond the words to what is not said, to emotions, and to fully hear others.
The Meeting Alignment Process teaches techniques of being non-judgmental, so that people can fully hear and support each other and let new ideas IN vs. rule out and defend against why things won't work. It produces a safe environment in which people feel encouraged to participate.
Non-attachment: Many people think meetings are about a specific outcome occurring ? the meeting holder's outcome? that's a surefire way to alienate people and result in them NOT wanting to support you. The Meeting Alignment Process allows for each person to give up "their" outcome and allows the meeting and solutions to unfold for the good of the entire group.
What's wrong: Most meetings focus on problems, fixing problems, or informing people of change. The meeting needs to come from a place of asking what IS working and involve what IS the right type questions. These questions form the basis of creating a positive energy flow and opening up creativity. It's the basic principle of encouraging a sense of positivity rather than negativity.
Framework of questions: Questions in this process focus on what is working, why it works, what would be the perfect ideal vision, and what isn't quite right yet, and then, coming up with resources and inspired actions to create the outcome of the meeting.
Feel good! When people attend a meeting where EVERY idea is praised and contributions rewarded and people thanked and really appreciated for their contributions, this raises self-esteem, confidence, and morale. People want to participate in meetings that make them feel good, not only about the company they work for, but about themselves and their role in it.
This process is effective in all companies and will work with all size groups. It requires a shift in the employer and leaders' thinking, from managing and bossing and telling to coaching and co-creating and sharing. The effect is profound. People treated with value and respect, rise up to challenges. They are more excited to solve problems, participate in the mission and vision of the company, and create more productivity. They feel that the company's success is their success. It motivates them to greater achievement.
Companies following a systematic process of creating a Meeting Alignment Process, take morale out of the toilet bowl fast. Their employees are happier, their retention rates rise, and the corporate culture shifts to one of enthusiasm.
A beneficial win-win situation is created and everybody gets to bask in success.
Written by Terri Levine, MCC, PCC, MS, CCC-SLP, the CEO ofCoaching Instruction.com, popular Master Certified personal and business Coach, sought after Public Speaker, and Author of bestsellers, "Stop Managing, Start Coaching", "Work Yourself Happy", "Coaching for an Extraordinary Life" and "Create Your Ideal Body". She can be contacted via the web site http://www.terrilevine.com or by telephone: 215-699-4949.
express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..The world of work has changed. It used to be... Read More
Maybe you find yourself in a new team environment and... Read More
Team Building Question:I'm a manager of a team of 20... Read More
The very effective tool of keeping a journal can be... Read More
Teams are often useful in situations where the task cannot... Read More
Have you seen the tee-shirt with the slogan, "Talk to... Read More
Multiculturalism is a reality in North America and for those... Read More
In days past, loyalty was a given. The worker in... Read More
You're at a meeting with key staff. You want some... Read More
Did you know your work environment can actually make you... Read More
I declared a Communications Major two years into school, after... Read More
One of the greatest challenges a coaching manager has is... Read More
There's nothing that matches the power of teamwork to accomplish... Read More
The feedback I'm talking about here isn't some sort of... Read More
"Asking questions can be a means of establishing authority, fulfilling... Read More
7 Key Dimensions of High Performance Teams We can always... Read More
The other day I got a call from a friend... Read More
Teams, teams, teams. They're all the rage these days. Whether... Read More
Reed Employment made a survey of their clients and compiled... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
A follow-up companion reader to The 17 Indisputable Laws of... Read More
1. Involve them. Many employees want to be involved in... Read More
As I work with clients to strengthen their teams and... Read More
Who keeps the wheels turning in your organisation? Who holds... Read More
Leaders are faced with unlocking the potential in the people... Read More
tidy up service Arlington Heights ..Let's look at the detail of giving feedback. Whether you... Read More
Feedback is such an important communication tool. Openness, honesty, candor,... Read More
So much has been written on this subject; Team Work,... Read More
Presenteeism is alive and 'not well' in many businesses today.... Read More
Survival: The Name of the New Economic Game People rarely... Read More
Feedback:Most experts agree both types; constructive and positive feedback are... Read More
Effective and sustainable teambuilding is necessary in today's marketplace where... Read More
Trainers, please picture this... You are presenting in a new... Read More
Teams run most businesses and teams work best if each... Read More
The key to life is to be around the people... Read More
Group discussions are where much of the creative work of... Read More
Recently I decided to stretch my athletic abilities and add... Read More
Several years ago I took an assignment as a Manager... Read More
Abstract: Based on significant research, Entelechy has defined characteristics of... Read More
Multiculturalism is a reality in North America and for those... Read More
"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common... Read More
A grassy field, two nets, a soccer ball and some... Read More
Today, most of us have been involved in a team... Read More
Once you've set a goal for yourself as a leader... Read More
We live in very progressive times, one only has to... Read More
It's frustrating when your co-workers, audience members, teenager or even... Read More
Everyone knows, works or lives with "innies." Who are they... Read More
Remember playing in your childhood sandbox? If you enjoyed being... Read More
When was your last team celebration? Have you been way... Read More
We exist in such a rapidly-changing environment. Technology is moving... Read More
Team Building |