Most leadership meetings begin with a status update.
One person reports. The leader asks questions. The leader makes suggestions. Everyone else listens.
We tell ourselves the whole team needs to know the status.
But often, the status update is really an audience of one conversation.
I’d like to suggest an experiment:
Let’s presume everything is on track.
We’ve already identified the work that needs to be done. Let’s assume people are doing it and use our time together to look for the exceptions.
Instead of:
“What’s the status of your project?”
Ask:
“Is any of the work we’ve identified not being done to expectation?”
If something isn’t meeting expectations, then the interesting conversation begins:
- What isn’t being met?
- What’s contributing to the gap?
- Was our original expectation inaccurate?
- What capability needs to increase?
- What support is needed?
And then, rather than the leader solving it:
“Team, how can we address this?”
The difference is subtle.
We’re no longer gathering information for the leader.
We’re bringing the collective intelligence of the team to the places where it can actually make a difference.
Perhaps the best team meeting isn’t the one where everyone confirms that things are going according to plan.
