“Those women talk too much.”
Women are reputed to be verbose in meetings. They are said to talk too much, become emotional and not get to the point. It is vital for your career development to lay this ghost to rest.
Don’t be unnaturally timid or quiet, but learn to understand the mechanics of meetings. Recognise the different roles that people play during meetings.
Say your say in a meaningful way. By taking my meetings seriously, doing my pre-meeting homework thoroughly and devoting attention to the basics of clear communication, I take great delight in disproving this particular myth.
Master the art of meetings and your verbal comments will actually be sought after.
“We need a token woman.”
These days organisations are well aware of the necessity of keeping up good impressions of cultural and gender diversity. Having a woman on every committee or work group is a must.
Make this situation work for you, not against you. When you are a minority in a meeting, there is usually heightened interest in what you have to say. At an early stage in my career I was invited to an all-day planning session, only to find that I was the proverbial token woman. I threw myself into the discussions with flair and enthusiasm.
That meeting was a career breakthrough! I won the lasting respect of influential members of the organisation and this paid dividends for the entire duration of my employment in that organisation.
Effective versus poor meetings
Meetings cost money. Just make this simple calculation.
If your annual salary is R65 000, a rough estimate of your hourly salary is R35. If you and nine similarly paid employers attend an hour’s meeting once a week! it will cost your organisation R350 per week or R18 200 per year.
Now add the additional ‘opportunity cost‘, that is, the cost of all the tasks which you and your colleagues might have done in the time devoted to the meeting. Startling, is’nt it? The cost is even higher if the meeting is inefficiently run, poorly planned or, in fact, plain unnecessary. It then has even greater hidden costs in terms of the frustration and stress it causes and also the waste of your precious time.
Reflect on two meetings in which you have participated during the last week, an effective meeting and a real time-waster. Answer the questions below.
To sum up, ineffective meetings lack a clear purpose.
The subjects discussed in the meeting could be handled along alternative lines, for instance by means of memos or notices. Poor meetings major on minors, such as whether tea should be served at 15:00 or 15:15 or whether red or green tablecloths should be bought for the canteen.
Ritualistic meetings are called out of habit and last far too long. The chairperson loses control and this gives the over-talkative parties too much leeway. And finally, ineffectual meetings don’t lead to firm action. The only thing decided is the date of the next meeting.
Why then have meetings at all? When meetings are organised and run efficiently they are the ideal place to exchange ideas and opinions, to make decisions, consult or simply to share information. The issue is not whether we can avoid meetings but how we can improve them.
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