Better: Always prepare an agenda. Always contact key participants before meeting to explain their role and to check if they are prepared for meeting.

4) They disagree

Meetings are an excellent activity to resolve disagreements. However, if people disagree with issue, process, or results AND are unable to exert influence, they will rebel. This rebellion will appear as misbehavior in meeting or (worse) sabotage after meeting.

Better: Use process tools in meeting that involve all of participants. Always contact key participants before holding a meeting on a controversial issue. Use these conversations to listen to their views, explain goals for meeting, and promote your intent for a fair resolution. Make sure that you seek a "Both/And" result instead of an "Either/Or" result so that everyone gets what they need.

5) They misunderstand

Sometimes people misunderstand expectations. For example, an executive was surprised by negative comments, ridicule, and hostility that occurred during his first staff meeting with a new group. After some investigation, he learned that his predecessor openly criticized and ridiculed people. Thus, this was behavior that staff had learned to emulate. The executive fixed this by a) stating new expectations, b) coaching key offenders, and c) setting an example of respectful conduct.

Better: Cultural management is a primary leadership responsibility. Demonstrate type of behavior that you want for productive meetings and provide private corrective feedback to those who misbehave.

An effective meeting is a team activity conducted by a fair process that involves everyone. People respect this approach and will make positive contributions because they know that such a meeting represents a good use of their time.

While using “tried and true” methods isn’t always a bad thing, someone else’s methods may not be exactly right for every organization. Leaders aren’t afraid to try new, and even unorthodox, methods to achieve optimum results.

6. Managers focus on product. Leaders focus on process.

While still holding to principles of quality, productivity and efficiency, leader is able to recognize effort as well as “end-product”.

7. Managers need lots of positive feedback. Leaders have an innate sense of their own self-worth.

Everyone likes a “pat on back” for a job well done. However, managers rely heavily on things like “performance reviews”, “appraisals” and “kudos” from their supervisors and their subordinates to demonstrate a job well done. They also tend to rely heavily on those tools as motivators for their subordinates.

8. Managers need subordinates. Leaders strive to develop other leaders.

Leaders are always in process of developing other leaders. Managers tend to feel very threatened when they perceive someone may be “passing them up”.

9. Managers tell “what”. Leaders share “why”.

The manager is primarily concerned with simply giving steps to achieve desired result. The leader also takes time to explain why those steps are crucial to desired result. In doing so, leader is also imparting his “vision” to those that help make that vision a reality.

10. Managers are more concerned with doing things right. Leaders are more concerned with doing right thing.

Managers tend to be very “order” and “structure” oriented. Leaders have a keen sense of “spirit of law” and aren’t afraid to “bend” rules if it will achieve a greater good for everyone.

Copyright © 2002, Monty J. Sharp

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