Uninvited Guests
When I first got married, I had a friend that would show up at my house unannounced and stay for days at a time, which was really irritating. I could blame the first couple of times on his lack of social awareness, but after a while the blame was on me, because I let it continue.
It’s likely that you also have uninvited guests… at your meetings. And if you’re the leader, the onus is on you to identify them (hint: they’ll be disguised as one of your team members) and make them leave, because they’re stunting the development of your team. Here are the main culprits:
The Comedian. Humor is powerful and usually positive, but it turns into a weakness when overused. I was with a team recently that was struggling with the performance of one of their team members, someone that was in the room. The tension was heavy, and it was forcing them to think hard and be vulnerable with one another. Then someone cracked a joke, and it was like stopping a workout right when it got hard – the tension evaporated and with it went the opportunity to strengthen the team.
The Complifier (not a real word, but quite descriptive). This intruder makes simple things complicated, usually to avoid accountability. I once had a sales leader tell his team: “We didn’t hit our new client target, but I’m not sure we’re targeting the right clients. And I’m a little confused as to how we are calculating our conversion ratio. Is that really the right target?” Clarity and accountability live together. When someone over-complicates, they’re trying to cast doubt on the mechanism that is holding them accountable.
The Professor. This most irritating guest waits until an issue has been resolved, and an action item agreed to, and then launches into his “teaching moment.” Settle in, because you’re in for a long story about something that happened 20 years ago that might, if the stars align and the Fed reduces interest rates, cause the action item to fail. This person fears change and is doing everything he can to slow it down. Get him out of the room, or better yet, get your Comedian to shame him into leaving.
As much as you need for your “guests” to go, remember they’re attached to one of your valuable team members, so be gentle. Start by simply calling out the behavior. You might even give it a funny name, so everyone knows it’s the behavior that’s the problem, not the person.
Great meetings are just one component of EOS® (The Entrepreneurial Operating System). Call me to find out about the rest of the system and how you can get everything you want from your business.