Journal: advance your effectiveness. My thoughts, tips and experiences – shared with you.

A Pandemic of Meetings!

The pandemic forced our working life into an online meeting frenzy. Conversations that naturally happened over a coffee or photocopier had to be scheduled. Many of my clients had so many meetings on the go that trying to work out how to be online in three “zooms” at once became overwhelming. Initially, during the first phases of the pandemic, it seemed as if everyone went through a phase of inviting everyone to everything, so they felt included.

 

Our lack of a physical presence in the workplace was replaced with a multitude of online meetings to prove we were working hard. With many leaders still working from home or in a hybrid pattern, this online way of working is here to stay. But let’s make sure to acknowledge that the pandemic ways of working together fuelling a meeting culture need to change.

 

Leadership effectiveness is about creating an effective strategy for how and when to show up. It’s not just about protecting energy and time, the sheer volume of meetings creates an unhealthy expectation, and the bigger picture opportunities get lost.

 

👉🏼We use a RACI matrix for organisation decision thinking but have you thought about applying a RACI to your day to day leadership impact?

 

✴️Here are a few questions to ask yourself

👉🏼 What intent and input do I want to have on what’s ahead of me?

• R – What am I responsible for?
• A – Who is accountable delivering the work?
• C – Do I want to be a contributor?
• I – Am I here to influence the outcome?

 

✴️ I’ve put together a handy tool to help you decide whether that next meeting is worth your time and how to maximise your input; you can download it via this link here.

 

Once you’ve ‘done a RACI on it’, you’re left with a clear sense of ‘what’s in it for me’.

 

Test yourself even further and consider delegating the meeting to someone in your team who is ready for more Responsibility, keen to gain more exposure as part of the Accountability team, has the capability to Contribute and is building their Influencing skills. #sustainableleadership #leadershipeffectiveness #impactmatters