Background
In team settings, constructive meetings have been credited for building team performance, allowing members to discuss underlying issues and take on additional responsibilities, as well as report back on the progress of the project (Levi, 2013). These benefits, however, can only be realized when effective strategies are used to conduct meetings. In this light, this paper uses a personal experience of professional meetings to discuss several dynamics associated with these communication vehicles.
Effective Meeting Strategies
One of the most effective strategies witnessed in a recently attended meeting is to negotiate conflicting issues towards the attainment of compromise. Although this strategy requires excellent negotiation skills, it is associated with the attainment of accommodation of the diverse viewpoints and attitudes that team members may demonstrate on an important issue (Levi, 2013). Negotiation is also positively correlated with teambuilding and the establishment of emotional supports during meetings, hence the justification. The second strategy entails rotating the chairing of meetings to other members to give them the opportunity for professional development. Delegating the chairing skills to the less experienced members of a team, according to Coleman and Glover (2010), has the capacity to minimize leadership stereotypes, improve meetings, and enhance relationships among team members. The third strategy entails ensuring that the meeting structure is fit for purpose; that is, the arrangement of the meeting aligns well with the main purpose, which underlies its actualization. Here, it is important to note that meetings are usually costly in terms of time and financial resources needed, hence the need to consider other avenues of communication depending on the purpose of the meeting (Levi, 2013).
Non-Effective Meeting Strategies
One of the non-effective meeting strategies witnessed in the recently attended meeting is the lack of wide-based consultation with other team members when developing the main aim and objectives of the meeting. Consulting only a few members, as was witnessed during the meeting, has the disadvantage of making members not align well with whatever is being discussed or addressed during the meeting (Levi, 2013). The second non-effective strategy concerns the issue of failing “to have a clear indication of time allowed for each item on the agenda and a clear starting and ending time for the meeting” (Coleman & Glover, 2010, p. 119). Here, it is important to note that holding long meetings at the end of a working day is counterproductive as members are more likely to lose focus due to tiredness. The third non-effective strategy entails holding meetings in areas that may tilt the balance of power, hence giving some group members more authority over others by virtue of holding the meetings in their own territory. As was witnessed during the recently attended consultative meeting, using environmental factors (e.g., location of meetings) to tilt the balance of power in favor of some members has the capacity to hinder collaboration and impinge on the contributions made by members.
Increasing Communication Effectiveness during the Meeting
In the attended meeting, leaders could have increased communication effectiveness by taking time to learn and understand the personality types of participating group members. Available literature demonstrates that communication effectiveness and collaboration can be achieved during meetings and in team contexts if leaders take the initiative to identify the personality types of group members and align their communication patterns with the identified personality types (McIntosh et al., 2008). Additionally, to increase communication effectiveness during the described meeting, leaders could have taken the initiative to identify common communication barriers and provide solutions to these barriers. These barriers include framing problems, member defensiveness, physical distance, group size and status differences, internal conflict, groupthink, prejudgments, and language issues (McIntosh et al., 2008). Lastly, it is important for leaders to stay on topic, avoid all distractions, and watch their body language.
Top Considerations in Conducting Meetings
In the event that I am given the opportunity to conduct a meeting in a leadership position, my top priorities would be to achieve the meeting’s main purpose and/or objectives, take up a minimum amount of time, and leave team members having the perception that a sensible and inclusive process has been followed. The importance of achieving the meeting’s purpose and/or objectives is anchored on the need to achieve the desired outcomes. Additionally, when meetings lack a clear purpose, it is possible that high levels of conflict and lack of collaboration will be experienced as group members lack a comprehensible and coherent direction on what needs to be done or achieved (Behfar & Peterson, 2008). The importance of taking up a minimum amount of time or using time wisely is based on the need to ensure that participants to the meeting are able to focus their energies toward the fulfillment of the meeting’s agenda and contribute effectively in resolving the main issues slated for discussion. Lastly, the importance of the third priority (leaving members having the perception that a sensible process has been followed) is based on the need to increase participation and collaboration, reduce conflict within the time, and ensure that members are motivated to attend future meetings due to the internalized perceptions that the meeting was not only productive but also successful (Levi, 2013; Strauch, 2010).
Conclusion
This paper has used a personal experience of professional meetings to discuss several dynamics associated with these communication vehicles. Drawing from the discussion and analysis, it can be concluded that leaders in the education sector need to use effective meeting strategies and address the challenges related to communication in order to develop an enabling environment in which meetings could be used to change the educational discourse through effective collaboration in addressing the many issues facing the sector.
References
Behfar, K.J., & Peterson, R.S. (2008). The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: A close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies, and team outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 170-178. Web.
Coleman, M., & Glover, D. (2010). Educational leadership and management: Developing insights and skills. Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill Education.
Levi, D.J. (2013). Group dynamics for teams (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
McIntosh, P., Davis, J.H., & Luecke, R. (2008). Interpersonal communication skills in the workplace. New York, NY: AMA Self-Study.