Are you the next Charismatic or Chosen Leader in the new work environment? Discover if you can accept the team management baton.

Have you ever seen someone come into a room full of people and light up the space? I’ve been thinking about what we see outwardly and what the truth of the matter is regarding that light. Today I want to speak truth to power.

I mean, there are many people that simultaneously have an orchestra going on inside of their heads when they walk into a noisy room filled with people. Or when they see a virtual chat section lighting up their screen with emojis and exclamatory phrases. But are those dramatic orchestra sounds + clicks just bells + whistles created to hide deeper secrets of the heart? And does it provide a proper reflection with what’s taking place externally? I wonder, am I looking at a genuine leader or is this another smoke + mirror show that I’ve blocked out 50 minutes of my valuable time for?

Let’s delve into the emotional culture of this new work environment. Here are 3 Crucial Elements to Uncover Meeting Motives.

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A productive meeting is not orchestrated with entertaining statements.

1.     It has an action plan with a concise meeting agenda that’s sent ahead of the scheduled meeting. If it’s a video-conference, send a brief reminder email with short bullets of meeting topics, a key sentence and the speaker’s name. Let your audience know in advance if there will be multiple speakers leading their respective areas.

Collect and send background materials with the agenda to all attendees. Get the agenda approved if that’s your company policy. High-performing, productive people get annoyed with redundant emails about the same topic. You’re having a meeting so send everything that will be needed and should be reviewed before attending the meeting at one time - in one thorough, thoughtful email. Now…when that distracted attendee decides to focus on the meeting an hour before…you can professionally direct them to the comprehensive email you sent two or four days ago. Also, you can lovingly nurture yourself with that cup of mint tea + avoid getting brought into their meeting prep chaos.

Remind the speakers to send in their screen sharing notes (24 hours before if possible) so you can test out the presentation tools before the meeting begins. This will eliminate breaking the flow of the meeting and inviting distracted texting. Yes, I address fragmented thinking in another blog. 🏹

If possible, use leadership music to keep unnecessary chatter, merging-lane curiosity + office gossip to a minimum. All of these behaviors also break the rhythm of the meeting’s intent. (Yes, those character weaknesses are described in detail in the other blog.)

A productive meeting is not about you.

2.     Sorry.. As a servant leader, you should begin each meeting with the intention of gauging attendee buy-in. As a leader, you want to help frame interactions. It’s okay to start with a brief, honest check in. Actually it’s called an “EQ Check-in”.

This is a great way to determine if your attendees are present and ready to engage productively. It can work in one-on-one, small or medium group team meetings. This activity will also help others from being offended if one of the leaders isn’t bringing their normal level of joy and enthusiasm to the team circle talk. In my senior-level experience with high-performing meetings, the enthusiasm level is a dead give-away for an upcoming meeting mood-buster. Wait for it.. it will rear its pouty head!

Keep in mind, as the meeting host, you are always intending to drive the focus of the meeting to an optimal + balanced collaboration. Level up and invite a shared presence.

What are the benefits of an EQ Check-in? Well, first it increases your empathy as a leader. Second, you develop a higher level of social awareness. And there’s a surprising but cool third benefit; it will give you a chance to elevate your energy, openness + level of focus. This will ultimately serve your team with the best experience they deserve! Remember, it’s all about them.

And a final element to uncover your meeting motives…

A productive meeting is not a concert.

3.    A concert is an inspirational meeting. Limit the number of attendees and determine what triggers the next larger group level. The goals of your team meeting should include creating an accountable + attentive atmosphere.

However, you can have a productive meeting for a larger group if your intent is to broadview instruct or inspire. If you’re hosting a webinar, lecturinar (I made that up!), online class-scenario or a concert, it’s fine to have a larger number of attendees.

Here are standard meeting motive types + meeting sizes to help gauge your meeting motive:

·       Type 1 -Your pure motive is crisis management, polling sensitive information, or conducting research on a competitor or negative outcome (the “opposition”).

·       Type 2 - our pure motive is diversity of opinion; so you need inclusion. You include those critical to the meeting. Think about who will be creating key follow-up information + resource materials, answering key in-the-trenches questions during + after the meeting, and responsible for having crucial sidebars with other key staff, colleagues, stakeholders, etc. They are the ones you should invite because they will make sure the tasks become realistic deliverables. They’re also the ones who will respectfully but candidly tell you whether the plan or objective is flawed. And trust me, you want to know this sooner rather than later.

·       Type 3 -Your pure motive is to rally your tribe or have a concert. 😊

·       Type 4 - Use the “8-18-1800” rule to determine meeting size. 8 people for problem-solving and collaborative decision-making; 18 people for brainstorming; + 1800 for feel-good meetings.

In team management, you realize the orchestra sounds better when you wisely sync up your meeting elements. This will produce the collective sound that encourages everyone encouraging to take their next step of faithful work. Use these crucial fundamentals and become a career creator. Each ingredient is a strategy that will create a dramatic shift in your career.

Careers are created when we focus on how to light up others instead of ourselves. A room is brightened by the life we speak and impart, bringing others to their chosen place in society.  Are you a charismatic or chosen leader?

Star Living your Best Life today!

© EJ Encalarde. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission, from this blog’s author and/or owner, is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to EJ Encalarde, LLC, with proper and specific direction to the original content at ejencalarde.com.