The Traffic Light Rule
In the first 20 seconds of talking, your light is green: your listener is liking you, as long as your statement is relevant to the conversation and hopefully in service of the other person. But unless you are an extremely gifted raconteur, people who talk for more than roughly half minute at a time are…
A time breakdown for your 1 on 1s
I have been trying to make more out of my weekly one on ones with my direct reports. I stumbled on this article in Forbes by Kristi Hedges that laid out a good rule of thumb agenda for a 45 minute one-on-one meeting: 15 Minutes: What your direct report needs to raise with you, get approved,…
3 + 2 Ways to Improve Meetings
How to run a successful meeting? Adam Bryant of the New York Times suggests the following 3 things in his article “How to Run a More Effective Meeting”: 1. Set an agenda 2. Start on Time. End on Time. 3. End with an Action Plan. Sounds reasonable. Even obvious but then he gives some golden…
Set Meeting Rules: No Interruptions Please
What is the best way to get everyone talking? Tell everyone to listen. This article by PETER DAISYME really nails the topic of interrupting in meetings: At the beginning of the meeting, it can be beneficial to let everyone know that it’s vital to give every single team member the opportunity to speak. This means…
Managers in Meetings: Ensure efficiency and inclusiveness
Having led what feel likes hundreds of meetings over the past year, since I became a manager of a large team of developers, I have learned a few things about how to manage a meeting: 1. Always have a clear and realistic agenda. 2. Make sure everyone invited really needs to be there. 3. Take…
Verbal Cues as Power Plays in Meetings
In my reading about the most effective ways to run meetings, I found this article “Egos at the Table, a Study of Meeting Behaviors”* quite interesting. In particular, the section on the use of verbal cues in meetings rang very true. The researcher findings support my feeling that people often use speech in meetings to…
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