When Do We Actually Need to Meet in Person? - Harvard ...

Before bringing people back to the office, consider what you hope to get out of your face-to-face meetings. Youhave1freearticlesleftthismonth. Youarereadingyourlastfreearticleforthismonth. Subscribeforunlimitedaccess. Createanaccounttoread2more. Collaborationandteams WhenDoWeActuallyNeedtoMeetinPerson? Beforebringingpeoplebacktotheoffice,considerwhatyouhopetogetoutofyourface-to-facemeetings. by RaeRingel by RaeRingel July26,2021 GandeeVasan/GettyImages Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print Summary.    Ascompanyleadersgrapplewithwhatareturntotheofficeshouldlooklike,theyshouldtaketheopportunitytothinkcarefullyaboutwhichpartsofworkshouldbedoneinperson,whichshouldbevirtual,andwhichcanbenefitfromamix,thencandesigntowardthatideal.Theauthorofferssixquestionstoaskasyouplotoutyourteam’sworkplan.Givenallthatwe’veovercomethroughoutthepast15months,itwouldbeashameifwedidn’ttakeadvantageofeverysinglehard-earnedpearlofwisdomaroundwork,life,andthenexusofthetwo.Let’sharnessournewperspectivesontime,technology,andtogethernesstorethinkhowwework—andspecifically,howwegather. Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print Leerenespañol Leremportuguês Threedaysintheoffice,twoworkingfromhome?Ortwoweeksintheoffice,thentwoathome(orsomeother,morealluringremotelocale)?Everyoneinallthetime,likein2019? Thesearesomeoftheoptionsleadersareconsideringastheygrapplewithwhatgoingbacktoworkshouldlooklike.Someofthesenewarrangementsarelandinguneasily.AtApple,forexample,employeesarepushingbackagainstapolicyrequiringthemtobeintheofficethreedaysaweek,describinga“disconnectbetweenhowtheexecutiveteamthinksaboutremote/location-flexibleworkandthelivedexperiencesofmanyofApple’semployees.” Togetbeyondthisstressfulpushandpull,weneedtoreframetheconversationandfocusonwhatwe’reactuallytryingtoachieveratherthanwhere,precisely,we’llbesittingwhenweachieveit.Thisinvolvesexaminingtheprecisenatureofthetasksinfrontofus,ourspecificobjectives,andtheweightweattachtotheonesthatcompete,likeefficiency,effectiveness,camaraderie,andmentalhealth.Oncewedeterminewhichpartsofourworkshouldbedoneinperson,whichshouldbevirtual,andwhichcanbenefitfromamix,wecandesigntowardthatideal. AsPriyaParkernotesinTheArtofGathering:HowWeMeetandWhyItMatters,“Gatheringsconsumeourdaysandhelpdeterminethekindofworldwelivein.”Andso,toensurethatwegoforward—notback—totheoffice,it’scriticalthatwereimagineacornerstoneofthemodernworkplace:howwemeet. It’saconfusingtime.Asyouplotoutyourteam’sworkplan,herearesixquestionsyoushouldbeasking. 1.Shouldthisbeameeting? Ifthere’sanythingwe’velearnedoverthepastyear,it’sthevalueoftime—andhowdrainingitcanbewhenthevastmajorityofourtimeseemstobespentinmeetings. That’swhathappenedin2020.Withouttheabilitytobumpintooneanothernearthecoffeemakerorpopbysomeone’sdesk,wehadtoscheduleeveryinteraction.Asaresult,ourtransitionsbetweenmeetingswerespentfranticallytryingtofindthatnextZoomlink. Nowthatserendipitousin-personinteractionsarepossible,andnowthatweknowhowtodovirtualworkwell,let’sthinkverycarefullyaboutwhethertimespentmeetingmightbebetterspentthinking,writing,orengaginginotherprojects.Lessismore:Thefewermeetingswehave,themoretheoneswehavewillcount.Itallcomesdowntopurpose.Askyourself:Whyareyoumeeting?Makesuretheanswerreallymakessense.Doyoureallyneedtomeet?Prioritizeasynchronousworkandusemeetingstobecreativeand do somethingtogether,ratherthansimplyshareinformation. Meetingsforteammemberstoprovideprogressreports,forexample,whereeveryindividualhastheirsegmentbutisrelativelypassivetherestofthetime,maynotbenecessary.Here,thegoalsmaybeaccomplishedmoreefficientlyinwriting.Ontheotherhand,brainstormingsessions,wherepeoplearebuildingoffofoneanother’sideas,benefitfromthedynamicsofagathering. 2.Aremymeetinggoalsrelationship-basedortask-based? Task-basedgoalsmightincludeupdatingaboard,briefingconstituents,orplanninganevent.Thesegoalscanoftenbeaccomplishedinavirtualmeeting(ifameetingisdeemednecessaryatall). Relationship-basedgoals,whichinvolvestrengtheningorrepairingconnectionsamongteammembers,areusuallyaccomplishedmosteffectivelyinperson.Peopleshouldbegivendifficultfeedbackface-to-face.Challenginggroupconversationsshouldalsotakeplaceinperson,wheredestructiveanddistractingparallelsidechatscan’tovershadowthecentraldiscussion. WhydoIsay“usually”?Becauseoverthepastyear,IparticipatedinsomemeaningfulvirtualmeetingswhereparticipantsbondedandopenedupinwaysthatIdoubttheywouldhaveinperson.Forsomepeople,thescreencreatesasenseofpsychologicalsafety,andwithitthefreedomtoshareviewsandtakerisks. 3.Howcomplexaremyobjectives? Sometimescomplexityisamorehelpfulframeworkfordeterminingwhatformameetingshouldtake.Thisincludesemotionalcomplexityandthelevelofinterdependencethatcertaindecisionsoroutcomesmayrequire. Thechartbelowplotsoutgoalsaccordingtotheirrelativelevelofcomplexity.Youmaynoticesomecorrelationbetweenrelationship-basedgoalsandcomplexity,buttheoverlapisnotcomplete.Meetingstodeterminecapitalallocationsorsignificantinvestments,forexample,maylandsquarelyintask-basedterritory.Butifthesediscussionsinvolvenavigatinginterpersonalandothercomplexities,orcarefullybalancingcompetingpriorities,theymightbestbenavigatedinperson. Atthesametime,relationship-basedgoalscanberelativelysimple.Oneofmyfavoriteunexpectedpandemic-erasuccessstorieswasmyexperiencerunningalargerealestatefirm’sZoomholidayparty.Forthefirm,BernsteinManagementCorporation,thisgatheringisanopportunitytocelebrateandacknowledgeemployees—asstraightforwardagoalastheycome. “IfyouaskedmeayearagowhetherIwouldhaveconsideredhostingavirtualholidayparty,Iwouldhavegivenanunequivocal‘no’andquestionedthejudgmentofthepersonasking,”thefirm’sCEO,JoshuaBernstein,toldme.“Butinmanyways,itworkedoutbetter.Everysingleparticipantwasfocusedonthesameconversation. Therewasn’tabadseatinthehouse. Almosteveryoneexpressedtheirsurpriseathowenjoyabletheprogramwas,andthatelementofsurpriseandnewnessendedupbeingpartofthesuccess.” 4.Couldmymeetingtakeanentirelydifferentshapeorform?  There’stheroom,there’sZoom,andthere’shybrid.Butthere’salsoaworldofpossibilitiesthatdon’tfallintoanyofthosecategories.Nowthatwehavesomanymoretoolsatourdisposal,arethereotherwaysthatinformationcouldbeimpartedsothatit’sabsorbedmoreeffectively? Oneofmyclientshasreplacedhermonthlyall-handsstaffmeetingwithapre-recordedvideothatstafferscanwatchorlistentoontheirowntime—perhapswhiletheygoforajogorpreparedinner.Iftheymisssomething,theycanrewind.Thisapproachhonorsdifferenttypesoflearners;someofusactuallyretaininformationbetterwhenwe’reabletomultitask.Companiesthatgothisroutecanaskemployeestowatchthevideobyacertaindate,thenofferoptionalQ&Afollow-upsessionsonaplatformlikeSlackorevenWhatsApp. WhenIworkwithclientsvirtually,weoftenassignascribetoeachbreakoutroom.ThescribetakesnotesontheconversationinaGoogledoc.Whenwecomebacktogether,everyonetakesa“gallerywalk,”spendingseveralminutesscrollingthroughtheGoogledoc,reviewingwhattheothergroupscameupwith,andannotatingideastheylike.Thiscircumventsaphenomenonknownas“deathbyreportback”:whenrepresentativesfromeachgroupdroneonabouttheinsandoutsoftheirconversationswhileothersspendthewholetimefiguringoutwhatthey’regoingtosaywhenit’sfinallytheirturntospeak. 5.Whattypeofmeetingwillbemostinclusive? BeforeCovid,Iwasveryclearthatthecohort-basedExecutiveCertificateinFacilitationprogramthatIrunatGeorgetownUniversityneededtohappeninperson,onceamonth,forfourmonthsinarow.Theparticipatingseniormanagersandexecutiveswouldflyinfromallovertheworldforthreedaysatatime.Thedeepinterpersonalconnectionsforgedamongparticipantswerecriticaltooursuccess—afterall,wewereteachingthemhowtohelpothergroupsformtrustingbonds.AlthoughI’vebeenfacilitatingremoteworkshopsforoveradecade,Idoubtedthatthisparticularprogramcouldpivot. Iwaswrong.Infact,oneofthemostsignificantadvantagesofthevirtualformatisthatit’sbeenmoreinclusive.Peoplefromoverseasorthewestcoasthavenojetlagtocontendwith.Thosewhoseorganizationsarewillingtocovertheirtuitionbutnottheirflightsorhotelsnolongerfacethosefinancialobstacles.Wehadmoremotherswithyoungchildrenparticipatingthaneverbefore. Thisisn’ttosaythatwedidn’texperiencearealsenseoflossfromourinabilitytobetogetherinperson.Butourprogramhasmanyobjectivesandencompassesabroadswathofdifferentactivities,or“tasks.”Someofthem,likethosethathaveatacticalfocusondesignandteamdevelopment,canbeextremelyeffectiveonline. Movingforward,we’replanningtoholdtwoofourfourmodulesinpersonandtwovirtually.Thisisadifferentand,yes,moreinclusivewayofdoinghybrid:Insteadofhavingsomepeopleparticipateinpersonandsomeonscreen,everyonewillbeonequalfooting—maximizingeachperson’scontributionandthebenefitsofeachmedium. 6.Doesmyfacilitatorhavetheskillsandtechsetuptopulloffahybridgathering? Intheearlydaysofofficeopenings,there’sastrongtemptationtoholdin-personmeetingswithahybridoptionforthoseworkingremotely.Thiscanbeanexcellentsolutionwhendonewell,allowingeveryonetoshowupfromtheplacewheretheyfeelmostcomfortable.Buttherearespecialskillsinvolvedinfacilitatingahybridmeeting.Doneincorrectly,youcanendupsideliningandevenalienatingremoteparticipants. SkilledhybridfacilitatorsknowhowtomakeZoomparticipantsfeellikefullparticipants.Theyestablishclearprotocolsforallparticipantstoofferinput.Theymakedirecteyecontactnotonlywiththoseintheroom,butalsowiththecamera. Technologyandpreparationarealsokey.Pre-Covid,oneofmycolleaguesshowedupataNewYorkCityhotel,energizedforthefullyin-persongatheringshethoughtshewasabouttolead.Onlywhenshearriveddidsherealizethatahandfulofparticipantswouldbejoiningonline.Shetriedherbesttoimprovise,butshe’ddesignedaphysicallyactiveprogramthatinvolvedmovingaroundtheroom.Itdidn’timmediatelytranslatetoavirtualenvironment—atleastnotwiththetechnologyavailable.Bytheendoftheday,thein-personparticipantswerefullyengaged,buteverysinglevirtualparticipant’scamerawasoff. Untilthoserunningyourmeetingshonetheirskillsintheartofhybridfacilitationandhavethetechnologytosupportthem,considerholdinganentirelyvirtualmeeting,evenifmanyparticipantsareZoominginfromtheoffice. Givenallthatwe’veovercomethroughoutthepast15months,itwouldbeashameifwedidn’ttakeadvantageofeverysinglehard-earnedpearlofwisdomaroundwork,life,andthenexusofthetwo.Let’sharnessournewperspectivesontime,technology,andtogethernesstorethinkhowwework—andspecifically,howwegather. ReadmoreonCollaborationandteams orrelatedtopics ManagingpeopleandBusinessmanagement RaeRingel isthepresidentof TheRingelGroup,aleadershipdevelopmentconsultancyspecializinginfacilitation,coaching,andtraining.SheisafacultymemberattheGeorgetownUniversityInstituteforTransformationalLeadershipandfounderofthe ExecutiveCertificateinFacilitation program. Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print ReadmoreonCollaborationandteams orrelatedtopics ManagingpeopleandBusinessmanagement PartnerCenter Diversity Latest Magazine Ascend Topics Podcasts Video Store TheBigIdea Data&Visuals CaseSelections