Tanu Gulia’s Post

How broken are meetings at your workplace? I've come to believe that meetings are probably the single most "broken" aspect of the modern workplace. People arrive checked out, stay checked out, and leave checked out. Often the convenor is as checked out as the participants! Sabina Nawaz reminds us that weaving Curiosity into the fabric of how we run meetings can be a total game changer! And I totally agree with her. Check out her article below for more "how to" tips. Fixing your meeting culture starts with a decision. I have witnessed some of the best innovation, some of the best problem solving, and some of the greatest business driving initiatives.....all happen before my eyes in meetings. Meetings with hand-selected attendees. With clear purpose. With a curiosity fueled culture. With the safety to say whatever and question anyone and anything. Meetings with enough time to really get at the big topic on the table. Its there for the taking if you go after it. One of the first things to fixing your meeting culture is to press the "re-set" button. We work with execs who open their minds to re-learning how to facilitate a successful meeting.... so there's Step 1. The step most people miss is actually re-training people on how to be great meeting participants (Step 2). When we do these 2 things together, its amazing how quickly things can change. Especially when we choose to instill a culture of curiosity! #meetings #leadership #culture

❝One-on-one Meeting❞ One-on-one meetings with your manager are valuable opportunities to connect, seek guidance, and align on goals. Here are some thoughtful questions you can ask during these meetings: ➊ What are your expectations for my role? Understanding your manager's vision helps you focus on the right priorities. ➋ How can I contribute to the team's success? This question shows your commitment to the team's goals. ➌ What skills or areas should I develop further? Seek feedback on your growth areas. ➍ Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives I can be involved in?. Show your interest in taking on new challenges. ➎ How can I improve my communication with colleagues? Addressing communication gaps is crucial. ➏ What resources or training can help me excel in my role? Demonstrates your proactive approach to learning. ➐ What do you appreciate about my work?Acknowledge positive contributions. ➑ Is there anything I can do to support you or the team better? Show your willingness to collaborate. ➒ What are the team's long-term goals, and how can I contribute to them? Align your efforts with the bigger picture. ➓ How can we enhance work-life balance for the team? Prioritize well-being. 🗣 Remember, these questions foster open dialogue and strengthen your professional relationship.

Not another meeting 😩 A lot of our working careers are meetings. We have all sat in a meeting and thought to ourselves "what am I doing here" or "this could have been an email". As the article below explains too many meetings can be stressful and adversely effect productivity and increase job dissatisfaction. But on the flip slide, how can we collaborate effectively without meetings and avoid meeting fatigue? Some companies have initiated a day of no-meetings where employees can focus on their jobs without the need of any meetings. Other businesses have asked their employees to decided for themselves what meetings are worth them attending. Others have pressed on with the status-quo. What's the right approach? At Voco. productive meetings are our business! We match our members and provide them the tools to support them but it's down to our members to decide how often to meet. Focusing our approach on our members allows them to get the most out of their meetings and not dread the next meeting. 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/eyvdDqVv #joinvoco #peermentoring

Today’s Tip ... Use Curiosity to Keep Your Meetings on Track Are your meetings chronically disengaging—or worse, easily derailed? It may be time to introduce curiosity into the agenda to keep people focused and things on track. First, direct the team’s attention to identifying the problem you’re there to solve. Rather than doing this for them, ask everyone in the room to define the goal of the meeting in one sentence. Clarifying a collective mission at the outset will help align team members and reduce confusion or irrelevant sidebars. Then let your employees do the talking. Just because you’re leading the meeting doesn’t mean you have to dominate it. Show curiosity, ask others for their opinions before sharing your own, and actively listen. This is a powerful way to engage and empower people. Finally, offer feedback—but avoid judgmental language. Judgment is the opposite of curiosity and can discourage and demotivate your team, leading to stilted, unproductive meetings. If you’re unsure how you feel about an idea, probe it. Simply saying “say more” is a nonjudgmental way of expressing curiosity and maintaining meeting momentum. hbr #worklifebalance

Today’s Tip ... Use Curiosity to Keep Your Meetings on Track Are your meetings chronically disengaging—or worse, easily derailed? It may be time to introduce curiosity into the agenda to keep people focused and things on track. First, direct the team’s attention to identifying the problem you’re there to solve. Rather than doing this for them, ask everyone in the room to define the goal of the meeting in one sentence. Clarifying a collective mission at the outset will help align team members and reduce confusion or irrelevant sidebars. Then let your employees do the talking. Just because you’re leading the meeting doesn’t mean you have to dominate it. Show curiosity, ask others for their opinions before sharing your own, and actively listen. This is a powerful way to engage and empower people. Finally, offer feedback—but avoid judgmental language. Judgment is the opposite of curiosity and can discourage and demotivate your team, leading to stilted, unproductive meetings. If you’re unsure how you feel about an idea, probe it. Simply saying “say more” is a nonjudgmental way of expressing curiosity and maintaining meeting momentum. hbr #worklifebalance

8 ways to make your team meetings feel like a safe space 1. Allocate work and projects to the team member(s) who has the right strengths and skill set(s) that will make the project the most successful. 2. Allow your team to speak up if they’re tapped out, overworked, or impacted by something going on in their personal life. 3. Don’t penalize someone for sharing that they’re drowning in work or maxed out for the week. Take them seriously and  it will drastically decrease their potential of burning out. 4. Incorporate more personality tests—I prefer Myers Briggs and Enneagram (if team members are comfortable with it)—and,  share the results with everyone on your team. These can make for some lively, insightful conversations!  5. Write an open-door policy and discuss it, adding to the psychological safety of the entire team. 6. Remember that the first idea is often not the best, most collaborative. Create an environment that thrives on dissenting opinions and deeper discussions, not just flying through the meeting agenda so you can scurry back to work. 7. Avoid forced and formulaic icebreaker questions that dig too far into the private lives of your team and about topics they might not be comfortable sharing. 8. Celebrate your team's wins as often as possible—no drive-by congratulations or Slack emoji-only celebrations. Bonus points if you verbalize each team member’s individual contribution in front of the room.  Celebrate out loud. Which one are you adding to your next team meeting?

I'm sure a lot of workers feel like so many meetings just "could have been an email". But the truth is better communication takes place when we are connecting face to face or via Zoom. Maybe our meetings just need to be livened up. I think this article shares some great insights. Here are some strategies to harness curiosity in meetings: Dig First: Before jumping to solutions, fully define the problem. Ask questions and understand the issue in depth. Let Your Colleague Own the Story: Focus on the speaker's issue, not your own experiences. Defer Judgment: Withhold immediate feedback and remain open to learning and understanding. Note Your Emotions: Acknowledge your emotions but don't let them dominate the conversation. Make Space for Others' Feelings: Validate your colleagues' concerns without minimizing them. Listen to Learn: Focus on understanding others' concerns rather than rushing to solutions. By fostering a culture of curiosity, we can transform dysfunctional or even just boring meetings into productive, collaborative sessions. This shift can help us move from being just a group to a team invested in shared outcomes. What do you think? What are some ways you motivate yourself and your team when meetings become mundane or stale? #MakingMeetingsBetter #CuriosityMindset #BetterMeetingsBetterInsights

Today’s Tip ... Use Curiosity to Keep Your Meetings on Track Are your meetings chronically disengaging—or worse, easily derailed? It may be time to introduce curiosity into the agenda to keep people focused and things on track. First, direct the team’s attention to identifying the problem you’re there to solve. Rather than doing this for them, ask everyone in the room to define the goal of the meeting in one sentence. Clarifying a collective mission at the outset will help align team members and reduce confusion or irrelevant sidebars. Then let your employees do the talking. Just because you’re leading the meeting doesn’t mean you have to dominate it. Show curiosity, ask others for their opinions before sharing your own, and actively listen. This is a powerful way to engage and empower people. Finally, offer feedback—but avoid judgmental language. Judgment is the opposite of curiosity and can discourage and demotivate your team, leading to stilted, unproductive meetings. If you’re unsure how you feel about an idea, probe it. Simply saying “say more” is a nonjudgmental way of expressing curiosity and maintaining meeting momentum. hbr #worklifebalance

Today’s Tip ... Use Curiosity to Keep Your Meetings on Track Are your meetings chronically disengaging—or worse, easily derailed? It may be time to introduce curiosity into the agenda to keep people focused and things on track.   First, direct the team’s attention to identifying the problem you’re there to solve. Rather than doing this for them, ask everyone in the room to define the goal of the meeting in one sentence. Clarifying a collective mission at the outset will help align team members and reduce confusion or irrelevant sidebars.   Then let your employees do the talking. Just because you’re leading the meeting doesn’t mean you have to dominate it. Show curiosity, ask others for their opinions before sharing your own, and actively listen. This is a powerful way to engage and empower people.   Finally, offer feedback—but avoid judgmental language. Judgment is the opposite of curiosity and can discourage and demotivate your team, leading to stilted, unproductive meetings. If you’re unsure how you feel about an idea, probe it. Simply saying “say more” is a nonjudgmental way of expressing curiosity and maintaining meeting momentum. hbr #worklifebalance