Lead Lines

Meeting Issues
How to deal with disruptions from people

It is important for sales managers to be run meetings effectively, and some behaviors can inhibit that. In their businessknowhow.com article “Surefire Tips for Taming Meeting Monsters,” Mike Song, Tim Burress and Vicki Halsey explain how to deal with seven types of meeting interruptions, including:
1. Tardiness. Although employees always come up with excuses they feel are important, they hurt their professional images by wasting everyone’s time. The authors suggest sending a mass e-mail asking everyone to be a few minutes early and single out those who are chronically late, in a way that makes them feel important and valuable to the meeting.
2. E-mailing. Most employees find it very annoying when someone is clicking away on a PDA or laptop in the conference room or during virtual meetings. Managers should ask participants to “TTO,” or turn technology off, at the beginning of the meeting.
3. Prestige. There is usually someone in every meeting whose job ranks above the others, and sometimes even above the sales managers for larger meetings. In these situations, other employees often scramble to impress and gain the favor of those with more prestige. This can lead to ideas being encouraged or humored even if they are not productive. “Head this off by quickly reviewing a list of the impractical or impossible options that your team has eliminated in prior meetings,” the authors write.
4. Tangents. Endless streams of “what if?” and “why not?” can cause team members to ignore the crucial issues. Managers should recognize these nonproductive tangents and ask their employers if the new topics are more urgent than the current agenda. If the answer is no, conversation will drift back toward the agenda.
5. Dissent. Sometimes only one or two employees fail to agree with the rest of the team on a solution. The authors suggest managers listen to these dissenters and look for the truth in their negative responses. If they still feel the solution the rest of the team came up with is best, they should move forward with out their agreement.
6. Over-discussion. Often in meetings a good idea will be discussed excessively, which wastes time. In this case, managers should remind team members that once something has been discussed enough, it is important to know when to move on.
7. Reluctant contributors. Even the most intelligent, insightful employees may freeze up in a meeting. Public speaking comes naturally for very few people, so managers must pay attention to those who may need some extra encouragement to open up. A good way to start is giving a speaking role to timid employees, such as reviewing the results of a previous meeting.
“Managing your meeting monsters effectively helps you keep your meetings on track, reduce redundant future meetings and get more done,” the authors conclude.