What to Do If Meetings Become Too Enjoyable

What to do if meetings become too enjoyable

The issue

A problem arises as we develop better, more human ways of meeting. Many people find it hard to justify going to ‘really nice’ meetings and yet these are increasingly the most important meetings that we need to attend.

Even the most dedicated reflective practitioner can find themselves feeling guilty about enjoying an action learning set or appreciative enquiry.

Kindness and compassion are often described as 'acts'. However we are increasingly finding it useful to think of them as attitudes or stances that we adopt. In an interconnected world an act of kindness implies that it is optional and can be turned on or off. This allows us to justify ourselves colluding with abusive systems whilst apparently still remaining kind and compassionate to the individual.

The analysis

As human beings we often have a strong sense of fairness and determination to work hard (subconscious or conscious, for various reasons). Having attended a wonderful programme meeting in beautiful woodland we find ourselves naturally slipping the next of these meetings to the bottom of priorities. This appears to have more to do with our guilty feelings and reluctance to be kind to ourselves than with any rational assessment of strategic importance.

Holding meetings differently is one thing, but the work on the wards still needs to go on. How can we bring this agenda to task orientated roles so that we improve everyone's working lives rather than those who are fortunate enough to sit in meetings? Not including the staff on the wards or the teachers in the classroom etc is divisive and disrespectful.

The invitation – TIME BANKING FOR YOUR CONSCIENCE

We propose the following simple solution for anyone who cares about these problems….

Every time you have a meeting which feels good, log the time it took and pay it back.

You can do this by working or volunteering on the front line or by meeting with front line staff to facilitate or provide time for them to think together. [Most managers start with 'no funds yet banked' while many front line staff are already owed large amounts of good meeting time.]

Let people know: does it work?

The objective

Eventually, we might end up with a combination of beautiful meetings and compassionate action, as old fashioned unproductive meetings get squeezed out of the system. As long as we also actively convert the meetings we have control over into good meetings (using three question chairing or other methods, see: