Every time we gather becomes a model of the future we want to create. – Peter Block
In today’s world we live with the paradox that meetings are an important tool for leaders and change-makers, yet they can be an ineffective and expensive strategy.
We are used to attending meetings we don’t know the purpose of, meetings where people interrupt and talk over each other, meetings where the same people almost never speak, meetings that shy away from difficult dynamics, meetings that end without anything tangible in our hands that can be followed-up on, and meetings where decisions are made that few people support.
The good news: We can do meetings differently. It is possible to create a participatory meeting structure where the purpose is clear, relationships are fostered, diverse opinions are welcomed, creative solutions are generated, and difficult decisions are made.
My hosting colleague Tenneson Woolf describes this as “Better Skills, Better Meetings”:
This is what many people want. It is as basic to organizational health as regular exercise is to personal health. The Art of Hosting, and the general framing of participative leadership, offers a set of tools, methodologies, perspectives, and practices to help improve meetings. Committee meetings. Staff meetings. Or repeated meetings that are engagement strategies for long-term community involvement. Our intent at The Art of Hosting is to help all participants leave as improved practitioners able to host better and more meaningful meetings.
Hosting meetings differently can be a strategic disruptor that shifts stuck teams, catalyzes projects, and creates new patterns that lead to better results. People are hungry for more effective meetings and practices for working better together amidst times of rapid change and high complexity.
Join us at the Art of Hosting Meaningful Conversations and Participatory Leadership on Bowen Island from November 8th to 11th (more information is here). Discover new ways to host better and more meaningful meetings.
Change your meetings, change the conversation, change the world.