Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just push a button and be able to access these amazing qualities at will? In a world where people are struggling to find the time, energy and focus to get everything on their “to do” lists handled, it can be hard to stay out of the reactive, fire-fighting mode of operation that seemingly has become the norm for most.
Leading hybrid meetings has a lot more complexity to it than you might initially think. Running effective hybrid meetings can feel confronting and even overwhelming. Unless you are well prepared, the logistics of organizing a Conversation that Counts can swamp your sense of confidence and presence. Professors Hooijberg and Watkins advise that “Effective leadership in this new hybrid world requires different skills that go beyond traditional team leadership”. Your preparation takes on a new level of urgency and importance when leading a hybrid meeting.
The learning COVID-19 has thrown at us will continue long after we find a way to prevent its spread and health risks. Before the pandemic, opportunities for employees to work remotely were more the exception than the rule. We have adapted quickly to working from home to comply with prescribed public health measures to contain the spread of the virus.
The current challenge facing busy managers is how to effectively lead hybrid meetings, conversations or gatherings where some attendees are co-located in the same physical space while others participate using conferencing technology. The pandemic has fundamentally shifted how and where we work together. SAs economies around the world begin to emerge from Covid restrictions, a survey by McKinsey suggests that 90% of organizations will adopt some combination of remote and on-site work.
We’ve all been in meetings that felt like a total waste of time. Endless, back-to-back meetings that clutter up the calendar and leave the real work to pile up.
You end the meeting more confused than when it started, frustrated that it was all talk and no action, just like so many before itWhen you’re the Conversation Leader, these kinds of problems fall on your shoulders
How do you handle things when people get unruly? Or is it you who talks endlessly, leaving no space for back-and-forth dialogue in your meeting?
Teams get out of alignment when they lack clarity about the decision they are asked to make. It’s essential to be upfront about whether their input is for information-sharing, brainstorming, or actual decision- making. Don’t confuse people’s attendance with acceptance. Silence doesn’t mean people agree with what is being discussed. When you treat group discussions about important issues as an activity to simply check the box on, you’ll run into problems in implementing and executing your objectives.
You have invested a lot of your energy and time to lead a conversation that builds goodwill, clarity and connection. You still need to ensure the ideas and understandings you’ve created in your conversation don’t dissipate once people leave the meeting or Zoom room. You’ve moved the ball down the field, but you aren’t across the finish line until you transfer the momentum from that meeting into tangible action and change.
As an early mentor of mine used to say, imperfect action is better than perfect inaction.
I learned an important life lesson when I joined a self-defense class for women early in my career. As a single professional woman who occasionally had to work late at night in a large city, I decided I would feel more peace of mind if I knew some self-defense basics. Over the one-day workshop, I learned the best stance to keep my balance if confronted, how to break the grip of someone trying to grab me, and the vulnerable points to aim for if faced with an attacker.
The final task of the workshop was to break a wooden board with my bare fist. As my fellow participants and I dubiously handed out the boards to each other, we all looked skeptical. These boards were solid and heavy. I didn’t want to break a bone.
I was introduced to the concept of “holding the space” when attending my first shadow work transformational seminar with Debbie Ford in California in 2001. It seemed very important for the people running this three-day immersive experience, but I took it very literally. “How can you hold space?” I wondered. “Space isn’t something you can touch or hold. It’s invisible.” Creating the appropriate space for your conversation is like planting a garden. There is an entire ecosystem to consider that is ever-changing, and you need to be responsive to those changes.
Conflict or disconnection happens when there is some unexpressed need or perspective in play. If the Conversation Leader responds only to what’s apparent, what’s spoken and seems obvious without digging deeper into the heart of the matter, they will miss an important piece of what is really happening. You don’t want to be like the Captain of the Titanic, paying attention only to what’s above the waterline and oblivious to the scope of dangers below the surface. We all know that decision did not turn out well.
Have you ever walked into a room and sensed a whole lot of tension? Without hearing what has been said, you immediately know there’s a chill in the air. You can pick this up in virtual spaces when someone appears held back or closed off, even in your limited view. They may turn off their camera for prolonged periods, despite your request to keep cameras on for the meeting.
Communication takes place in many forms and is a critical input in connecting and understanding one another. Bats operate through an incredible and sophisticated sonar system, where they fly using signals that bounce back from the environment around them. We, too, need to pay attention to signals.
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