How is your company’s communication? Is it tight and efficient and aimed at driving results or increasing connection? Or do team members talk a lot without saying anything meaningful? Of the hundreds of companies I’ve worked with over the past 30 years, I repeatedly see only five types of communication:
- Promises/Requests
- Info Sharing
- Debating
- Decision Making
- Sharing Oneself, Point Proving
Notice that promises and requests are at the top because that’s going to lead to the most action. Info-sharing and debating and decision making are in the middle, while point proving and sharing oneself is at the bottom because it doesn’t usually lead to positive action.
What communication types are most prevalent in your company?
Are your meetings dominated by lots of Info Sharing, lots of Sharing of Oneself, some Debating, Decision Making and Point Proving and regrettably few Requests and Promises?
There are three types of meetings you’ll want to consider.
1. Why Meetings: Strategy & Mission
The priority is focus and the method is debating and decision making. We have fewer meetings per year with more debate. This is where we actually want to have high debate and include divergence as we are getting ourselves aligned. This is a place for healthy conflict. We are asking “Why are we doing this?” to determine mission, vision, values and to get aligned. Here we can tolerate and encourage a lot more debating (though never point proving). We are focused on getting out on the table different new ideas, information, and understanding what could go wrong on different paths.
2. What Meetings: Brainstorming
The priority is clarity and the method is info sharing. These include your average departmental or executive team meeting, lightly less frequent, slightly less debating as you are no longer re-determining the core of your strategy. You are brainstorming about what to do and creating action plans. Here we tolerate more info sharing as we need to know what the parts of the team are doing in order to plan and prioritize.
3. How Meetings: Implementing
The priority is accountability and the method is promises and requests. These are the daily and weekly implementation meetings as well as 1 on 1 interactions. These meetings are all about promises and requests. We need the results and priority to be accountability and action.
The result
Meetings that are efficient, effective, and keep your team happy and executing with high accountability. Further, it’ll reduce frustration, boredom and disengaged team members and everyone will communicate effectively, efficiently, and focus on moving the needle.
We offer workshops on meetings for executives that will blast your company into a new orbit! Contact us or email: jake@thrive-cm.com.
First published on Forbes.com
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