Page 11 - Leadership Basics 10

4. They Provide the Stage for Those Who Love the Sound of Their Own Voices
You can hear the moans: 'Oh no, here he goes again!' The leader has probably made the mistake of
asking if anyone has an opinion. That is the cue for the professional opinion expert to air their views,
usually at length. They leave the meeting satisfied that they have exercised their larynx, the leader
believes there has been involvement and participation, and everyone else is frustrated. Even worse,
the talker and the chair may be the same individual.

Have you attended meetings where the leader used the forum to promote their own strongly held
views, given others little opportunity to speak and did not listen to them even when they got the
chance, and then recorded in the minutes the decisions which the group had 'agreed' on. Some‐
times they bore little resemblance to what had actually been said at the meetings. There were
enough text and email messages sent at these meetings to signal their effectiveness.

5. Members Avoid Making Decisions When Procrastination Will Do
Another common fault in meetings is to put decisions off. If the purpose was to reach a
decision, then that is what should happen before the end of the meeting. Decisions tend to be
avoided because the issues become complicated. The leader may have failed to keep control of
discussions and draw contributions together so that the issue remains clear and reasonably simple
in everyone's mind.

6. They Seldom Result in Any Plans for Action
How often do you leave a meeting and the only thing which has been decided is when the next
meeting will be held? There are many occasions when members should leave with something to do.
There should be plans of action.
So these are poor meetings, ones with which we are all too familiar. However, meetings can be
highly beneficial if run well. In the next section, we look at ways in which you can plan an effective
meeting, engage in purposeful discussion, and end up with clear decisions and action plans.

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