So I assume everyone has heard the phrase “death by meetings”,
that fear that you are going to be in a series of meetings and that no matter
how hard everyone tries, you seem to come out of these meetings with the same
to do list or a larger one. I know your
all shaking your head yes or saying “been there done that and have the tee
shirt to prove it”.
We at ITSM Academy recently had our yearly strategic meetings
and I want to say up front, Best Strategic Meetings in the eight years I have
been with the organization. Now that it is not to say that we haven’t had great
Strategic Meetings in the past, because we have. And that is not to say that I wasn’t heading
into these meetings with a bit of trepidation, as I think most of us do. I
recently read an article called Managing Yourself, Learn to Love Networking*.
It defined four strategies that you can engage to help you network with other
people even if you really don't enjoy it.
I thought, why can’t I take these 4 approaches and use them to help me
be the best I can be and contribute effectively to the goals of the
organization?
Step number one ‘Focus on learning”. Most people have a dominant motivational
focus – promotion or prevention (1).
Promotion is focusing on the growth, advancement and accomplishment,
while the perspective is excitement, curiosity and an open mind, something hard
to do for grumpy cats. Prevention on the other hand is the view of I’m obliged
to do this and take part for only professional reasons, which to me really
limits your ability to listen and engage with people.
Step number two “Identify Common Interests”. (2) Take time to think about how your interests
and goals align with those individuals that you are meeting and hopefully
brainstorming with. What pain-points do
we have in common and how can we work together to eliminate them to all our
benefits? What is working well and how can we continue to mature it over time
with coordinated efforts? If you are not
sure of what the people you work with do on a daily basis, ask them to tell you
and find those areas of where your common interests lie.
Step number three “Think Broadly about what you can give”.
(3) Don’t be afraid to share your
experiences and knowledge. You would be
surprised at how much you have to offer and what value you bring to the table,
especially if you can look at things with a different set of eyes and a unique
perspective.
Step number four “Find a Higher purpose”. (4) Enter the meeting with a higher goal, focus on
the collective benefit of engaging with others to move your organization
forward. Think about how you can
contribute to making your organization more efficient and effective and what
the results will look like for your customers.
*Managing Yourself, Learning to Love Networking - https://hbr.org/2016/05/learn-to-love-networking
Tiziana Casciaro, Fancesca Gino and Maryam Kouchaki. (1, 2,
3, 4)
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