Show me your meeting, and I will tell you your culture.
Show me your meeting, and I will tell you your culture.
Company meetings are a great platform to observe how people really do things—rather than how they narrate about it in an interview or survey.
My favorite one to observe is a weekly team meeting because this is when people usually display their day-to-day behavior.
To help teams reflect on their behavior and improve forward, I’ve learned that it is essential to deliver your feedback right after the meeting.
Leadership growth is a dish best served hot.
Here are a few observations I made when being a fly on the wall during meetings over the past weeks:
1. The company aims to improve customer-centricity, yet 80% of the meeting agenda covers topics that have little connection to the customer.
2. The company wants to promote diversity, yet only a few people tend to contribute during large group meetings.
3. The team strives for swift progress in small iterations, yet meetings have no clear decision-making process.
Observing meetings has become one of my favorite methods in the consulting tool belt. It can help teams improve in real-time, impacting the company’s culture over time.