Work Matters

The Boss as Human Shield: Protect People from Your Own Worst Instincts Too

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supermoxie

in

Boring-meeting-largethumb1613679

Over at HBR online today, one of the articles they are featuring is my piece on The Boss as Human Shield.  One point the article makes, and that I emphasize in Good Boss, Bad Boss , is that your job as a boss isn't just to protect employees from other idiots — it is also to protect them your own idiocy.  At or near the top of the list are bad meetings, too many meetings, and meetings that run too long.  The picture above of a boring meeting made me laugh and and made me think.  If the people at the meetings you run look like that, you might want to think about having fewer meetings and changing how the are done (see the example here and here of an all-hands meeting at Timbuk2 that our students at the d.school helped fix.. there were people sleeping at the meeting too before it was changed).

Certainly, meetings are sometimes necessary, but are often ran badly.  What do you do to hold just the right number of meetings and to run them effectively? 

Comments

56 responses to “The Boss as Human Shield: Protect People from Your Own Worst Instincts Too”

  1. Zeta Avatar
    Zeta

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy?

    Reply
  2. Zeta Avatar
    Zeta

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy?

    Reply
  3. Zeta Avatar
    Zeta

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy?

    Reply
  4. Zeta Avatar
    Zeta

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy?

    Reply
  5. Zeta Avatar
    Zeta

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy?

    Reply
  6. Zeta Avatar
    Zeta

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy?

    Reply
  7. Zeta Avatar
    Zeta

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy?

    Reply
  8. Zeta Avatar
    Zeta

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy?

    Reply
  9. BryanB Avatar
    BryanB

    1) Default to no meetings
    2) Continually ask if we need this many meetings, and for this long
    3) Agendas whenever possible
    4) Clear meeting leader
    5) Stick to start and stop times
    6) Emphasize meeting with customers, not internally
    7) Emphasize ad hoc meetings, not recurring ones

    Reply
  10. BryanB Avatar
    BryanB

    1) Default to no meetings
    2) Continually ask if we need this many meetings, and for this long
    3) Agendas whenever possible
    4) Clear meeting leader
    5) Stick to start and stop times
    6) Emphasize meeting with customers, not internally
    7) Emphasize ad hoc meetings, not recurring ones

    Reply
  11. BryanB Avatar
    BryanB

    1) Default to no meetings
    2) Continually ask if we need this many meetings, and for this long
    3) Agendas whenever possible
    4) Clear meeting leader
    5) Stick to start and stop times
    6) Emphasize meeting with customers, not internally
    7) Emphasize ad hoc meetings, not recurring ones

    Reply
  12. BryanB Avatar
    BryanB

    1) Default to no meetings
    2) Continually ask if we need this many meetings, and for this long
    3) Agendas whenever possible
    4) Clear meeting leader
    5) Stick to start and stop times
    6) Emphasize meeting with customers, not internally
    7) Emphasize ad hoc meetings, not recurring ones

    Reply
  13. BryanB Avatar
    BryanB

    1) Default to no meetings
    2) Continually ask if we need this many meetings, and for this long
    3) Agendas whenever possible
    4) Clear meeting leader
    5) Stick to start and stop times
    6) Emphasize meeting with customers, not internally
    7) Emphasize ad hoc meetings, not recurring ones

    Reply
  14. BryanB Avatar
    BryanB

    1) Default to no meetings
    2) Continually ask if we need this many meetings, and for this long
    3) Agendas whenever possible
    4) Clear meeting leader
    5) Stick to start and stop times
    6) Emphasize meeting with customers, not internally
    7) Emphasize ad hoc meetings, not recurring ones

    Reply
  15. BryanB Avatar
    BryanB

    1) Default to no meetings
    2) Continually ask if we need this many meetings, and for this long
    3) Agendas whenever possible
    4) Clear meeting leader
    5) Stick to start and stop times
    6) Emphasize meeting with customers, not internally
    7) Emphasize ad hoc meetings, not recurring ones

    Reply
  16. BryanB Avatar
    BryanB

    1) Default to no meetings
    2) Continually ask if we need this many meetings, and for this long
    3) Agendas whenever possible
    4) Clear meeting leader
    5) Stick to start and stop times
    6) Emphasize meeting with customers, not internally
    7) Emphasize ad hoc meetings, not recurring ones

    Reply
  17. Touchyourdream Avatar
    Touchyourdream

    I think there would be no magic number about the number of meetings to be held, but we can get some insight from the following.
    Before deciding on ‘How’ of a certain thing, we need to think out the ‘Why’ and ‘What.’ Like the preceding, a meeting is nothing more than one of tools equivalent to ‘How,’ so that the most important thing is to fully recognize its ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in advance.
    If we focus on the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of a meeting, that enables us to easily find out how to manage the meeting in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

    Reply
  18. Touchyourdream Avatar
    Touchyourdream

    I think there would be no magic number about the number of meetings to be held, but we can get some insight from the following.
    Before deciding on ‘How’ of a certain thing, we need to think out the ‘Why’ and ‘What.’ Like the preceding, a meeting is nothing more than one of tools equivalent to ‘How,’ so that the most important thing is to fully recognize its ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in advance.
    If we focus on the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of a meeting, that enables us to easily find out how to manage the meeting in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

    Reply
  19. Touchyourdream Avatar
    Touchyourdream

    I think there would be no magic number about the number of meetings to be held, but we can get some insight from the following.
    Before deciding on ‘How’ of a certain thing, we need to think out the ‘Why’ and ‘What.’ Like the preceding, a meeting is nothing more than one of tools equivalent to ‘How,’ so that the most important thing is to fully recognize its ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in advance.
    If we focus on the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of a meeting, that enables us to easily find out how to manage the meeting in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

    Reply
  20. Touchyourdream Avatar
    Touchyourdream

    I think there would be no magic number about the number of meetings to be held, but we can get some insight from the following.
    Before deciding on ‘How’ of a certain thing, we need to think out the ‘Why’ and ‘What.’ Like the preceding, a meeting is nothing more than one of tools equivalent to ‘How,’ so that the most important thing is to fully recognize its ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in advance.
    If we focus on the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of a meeting, that enables us to easily find out how to manage the meeting in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

    Reply
  21. Touchyourdream Avatar
    Touchyourdream

    I think there would be no magic number about the number of meetings to be held, but we can get some insight from the following.
    Before deciding on ‘How’ of a certain thing, we need to think out the ‘Why’ and ‘What.’ Like the preceding, a meeting is nothing more than one of tools equivalent to ‘How,’ so that the most important thing is to fully recognize its ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in advance.
    If we focus on the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of a meeting, that enables us to easily find out how to manage the meeting in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

    Reply
  22. Touchyourdream Avatar
    Touchyourdream

    I think there would be no magic number about the number of meetings to be held, but we can get some insight from the following.
    Before deciding on ‘How’ of a certain thing, we need to think out the ‘Why’ and ‘What.’ Like the preceding, a meeting is nothing more than one of tools equivalent to ‘How,’ so that the most important thing is to fully recognize its ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in advance.
    If we focus on the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of a meeting, that enables us to easily find out how to manage the meeting in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

    Reply
  23. Touchyourdream Avatar
    Touchyourdream

    I think there would be no magic number about the number of meetings to be held, but we can get some insight from the following.
    Before deciding on ‘How’ of a certain thing, we need to think out the ‘Why’ and ‘What.’ Like the preceding, a meeting is nothing more than one of tools equivalent to ‘How,’ so that the most important thing is to fully recognize its ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in advance.
    If we focus on the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of a meeting, that enables us to easily find out how to manage the meeting in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

    Reply
  24. Touchyourdream Avatar
    Touchyourdream

    I think there would be no magic number about the number of meetings to be held, but we can get some insight from the following.
    Before deciding on ‘How’ of a certain thing, we need to think out the ‘Why’ and ‘What.’ Like the preceding, a meeting is nothing more than one of tools equivalent to ‘How,’ so that the most important thing is to fully recognize its ‘Why’ and ‘What’ in advance.
    If we focus on the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of a meeting, that enables us to easily find out how to manage the meeting in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

    Reply
  25. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    In my opinion, meeting itself does not have any problems. The main problems are the purpose of each meeting, who must be attended, how long we are going to discuss or report, whether everyone has fully prepared for this meeting… Otherwise, this kind of meeting will be meaningless and waste everyone’s valuable time.

    Reply
  26. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    In my opinion, meeting itself does not have any problems. The main problems are the purpose of each meeting, who must be attended, how long we are going to discuss or report, whether everyone has fully prepared for this meeting… Otherwise, this kind of meeting will be meaningless and waste everyone’s valuable time.

    Reply
  27. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    In my opinion, meeting itself does not have any problems. The main problems are the purpose of each meeting, who must be attended, how long we are going to discuss or report, whether everyone has fully prepared for this meeting… Otherwise, this kind of meeting will be meaningless and waste everyone’s valuable time.

    Reply
  28. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    In my opinion, meeting itself does not have any problems. The main problems are the purpose of each meeting, who must be attended, how long we are going to discuss or report, whether everyone has fully prepared for this meeting… Otherwise, this kind of meeting will be meaningless and waste everyone’s valuable time.

    Reply
  29. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    In my opinion, meeting itself does not have any problems. The main problems are the purpose of each meeting, who must be attended, how long we are going to discuss or report, whether everyone has fully prepared for this meeting… Otherwise, this kind of meeting will be meaningless and waste everyone’s valuable time.

    Reply
  30. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    In my opinion, meeting itself does not have any problems. The main problems are the purpose of each meeting, who must be attended, how long we are going to discuss or report, whether everyone has fully prepared for this meeting… Otherwise, this kind of meeting will be meaningless and waste everyone’s valuable time.

    Reply
  31. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    In my opinion, meeting itself does not have any problems. The main problems are the purpose of each meeting, who must be attended, how long we are going to discuss or report, whether everyone has fully prepared for this meeting… Otherwise, this kind of meeting will be meaningless and waste everyone’s valuable time.

    Reply
  32. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    In my opinion, meeting itself does not have any problems. The main problems are the purpose of each meeting, who must be attended, how long we are going to discuss or report, whether everyone has fully prepared for this meeting… Otherwise, this kind of meeting will be meaningless and waste everyone’s valuable time.

    Reply
  33. Dan (Leadership Freak) Avatar
    Dan (Leadership Freak)

    Bob,
    Create a culture where everyone knows that discussion time is not endless and the purpose of the meeting is making decisions that express organizational objectives.
    I’ve found that decision driven meetings that run at an unrushed yet quick pace are enjoyable and useful to all.
    Best Regards,
    Leadership Freak,
    Dan Rockwell

    Reply
  34. Dan (Leadership Freak) Avatar
    Dan (Leadership Freak)

    Bob,
    Create a culture where everyone knows that discussion time is not endless and the purpose of the meeting is making decisions that express organizational objectives.
    I’ve found that decision driven meetings that run at an unrushed yet quick pace are enjoyable and useful to all.
    Best Regards,
    Leadership Freak,
    Dan Rockwell

    Reply
  35. Dan (Leadership Freak) Avatar
    Dan (Leadership Freak)

    Bob,
    Create a culture where everyone knows that discussion time is not endless and the purpose of the meeting is making decisions that express organizational objectives.
    I’ve found that decision driven meetings that run at an unrushed yet quick pace are enjoyable and useful to all.
    Best Regards,
    Leadership Freak,
    Dan Rockwell

    Reply
  36. Dan (Leadership Freak) Avatar
    Dan (Leadership Freak)

    Bob,
    Create a culture where everyone knows that discussion time is not endless and the purpose of the meeting is making decisions that express organizational objectives.
    I’ve found that decision driven meetings that run at an unrushed yet quick pace are enjoyable and useful to all.
    Best Regards,
    Leadership Freak,
    Dan Rockwell

    Reply
  37. Dan (Leadership Freak) Avatar
    Dan (Leadership Freak)

    Bob,
    Create a culture where everyone knows that discussion time is not endless and the purpose of the meeting is making decisions that express organizational objectives.
    I’ve found that decision driven meetings that run at an unrushed yet quick pace are enjoyable and useful to all.
    Best Regards,
    Leadership Freak,
    Dan Rockwell

    Reply
  38. Dan (Leadership Freak) Avatar
    Dan (Leadership Freak)

    Bob,
    Create a culture where everyone knows that discussion time is not endless and the purpose of the meeting is making decisions that express organizational objectives.
    I’ve found that decision driven meetings that run at an unrushed yet quick pace are enjoyable and useful to all.
    Best Regards,
    Leadership Freak,
    Dan Rockwell

    Reply
  39. Dan (Leadership Freak) Avatar
    Dan (Leadership Freak)

    Bob,
    Create a culture where everyone knows that discussion time is not endless and the purpose of the meeting is making decisions that express organizational objectives.
    I’ve found that decision driven meetings that run at an unrushed yet quick pace are enjoyable and useful to all.
    Best Regards,
    Leadership Freak,
    Dan Rockwell

    Reply
  40. Dan (Leadership Freak) Avatar
    Dan (Leadership Freak)

    Bob,
    Create a culture where everyone knows that discussion time is not endless and the purpose of the meeting is making decisions that express organizational objectives.
    I’ve found that decision driven meetings that run at an unrushed yet quick pace are enjoyable and useful to all.
    Best Regards,
    Leadership Freak,
    Dan Rockwell

    Reply
  41. Scot Herrick Avatar
    Scot Herrick

    Missing in all this, I think, are two important considerations. One is defining the purpose of the meeting — is it an informational meeting, brainstorming meeting, decision-making meeting, etc.
    People come into a given meeting, agenda or not, and do not know the purpose…and then get frustrated because of all the differences (why can’t we make a decision???).
    Second, not clearly defining the next actions each person needs to take as a result of the meeting. The meeting just ends with no forward movement or work to be done…except to have another meeting.
    If people are not clear and accountable for the defined next actions from a meeting, they won’t get done.
    Meetings are one of the poorest run management practices in the history of the planet…

    Reply
  42. Scot Herrick Avatar
    Scot Herrick

    Missing in all this, I think, are two important considerations. One is defining the purpose of the meeting — is it an informational meeting, brainstorming meeting, decision-making meeting, etc.
    People come into a given meeting, agenda or not, and do not know the purpose…and then get frustrated because of all the differences (why can’t we make a decision???).
    Second, not clearly defining the next actions each person needs to take as a result of the meeting. The meeting just ends with no forward movement or work to be done…except to have another meeting.
    If people are not clear and accountable for the defined next actions from a meeting, they won’t get done.
    Meetings are one of the poorest run management practices in the history of the planet…

    Reply
  43. Scot Herrick Avatar
    Scot Herrick

    Missing in all this, I think, are two important considerations. One is defining the purpose of the meeting — is it an informational meeting, brainstorming meeting, decision-making meeting, etc.
    People come into a given meeting, agenda or not, and do not know the purpose…and then get frustrated because of all the differences (why can’t we make a decision???).
    Second, not clearly defining the next actions each person needs to take as a result of the meeting. The meeting just ends with no forward movement or work to be done…except to have another meeting.
    If people are not clear and accountable for the defined next actions from a meeting, they won’t get done.
    Meetings are one of the poorest run management practices in the history of the planet…

    Reply
  44. Scot Herrick Avatar
    Scot Herrick

    Missing in all this, I think, are two important considerations. One is defining the purpose of the meeting — is it an informational meeting, brainstorming meeting, decision-making meeting, etc.
    People come into a given meeting, agenda or not, and do not know the purpose…and then get frustrated because of all the differences (why can’t we make a decision???).
    Second, not clearly defining the next actions each person needs to take as a result of the meeting. The meeting just ends with no forward movement or work to be done…except to have another meeting.
    If people are not clear and accountable for the defined next actions from a meeting, they won’t get done.
    Meetings are one of the poorest run management practices in the history of the planet…

    Reply
  45. Scot Herrick Avatar
    Scot Herrick

    Missing in all this, I think, are two important considerations. One is defining the purpose of the meeting — is it an informational meeting, brainstorming meeting, decision-making meeting, etc.
    People come into a given meeting, agenda or not, and do not know the purpose…and then get frustrated because of all the differences (why can’t we make a decision???).
    Second, not clearly defining the next actions each person needs to take as a result of the meeting. The meeting just ends with no forward movement or work to be done…except to have another meeting.
    If people are not clear and accountable for the defined next actions from a meeting, they won’t get done.
    Meetings are one of the poorest run management practices in the history of the planet…

    Reply
  46. Scot Herrick Avatar
    Scot Herrick

    Missing in all this, I think, are two important considerations. One is defining the purpose of the meeting — is it an informational meeting, brainstorming meeting, decision-making meeting, etc.
    People come into a given meeting, agenda or not, and do not know the purpose…and then get frustrated because of all the differences (why can’t we make a decision???).
    Second, not clearly defining the next actions each person needs to take as a result of the meeting. The meeting just ends with no forward movement or work to be done…except to have another meeting.
    If people are not clear and accountable for the defined next actions from a meeting, they won’t get done.
    Meetings are one of the poorest run management practices in the history of the planet…

    Reply
  47. Scot Herrick Avatar
    Scot Herrick

    Missing in all this, I think, are two important considerations. One is defining the purpose of the meeting — is it an informational meeting, brainstorming meeting, decision-making meeting, etc.
    People come into a given meeting, agenda or not, and do not know the purpose…and then get frustrated because of all the differences (why can’t we make a decision???).
    Second, not clearly defining the next actions each person needs to take as a result of the meeting. The meeting just ends with no forward movement or work to be done…except to have another meeting.
    If people are not clear and accountable for the defined next actions from a meeting, they won’t get done.
    Meetings are one of the poorest run management practices in the history of the planet…

    Reply
  48. Scot Herrick Avatar
    Scot Herrick

    Missing in all this, I think, are two important considerations. One is defining the purpose of the meeting — is it an informational meeting, brainstorming meeting, decision-making meeting, etc.
    People come into a given meeting, agenda or not, and do not know the purpose…and then get frustrated because of all the differences (why can’t we make a decision???).
    Second, not clearly defining the next actions each person needs to take as a result of the meeting. The meeting just ends with no forward movement or work to be done…except to have another meeting.
    If people are not clear and accountable for the defined next actions from a meeting, they won’t get done.
    Meetings are one of the poorest run management practices in the history of the planet…

    Reply
  49. bob jain Avatar
    bob jain

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy? —>that’s a million dollar question

    Reply
  50. bob jain Avatar
    bob jain

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy? —>that’s a million dollar question

    Reply
  51. bob jain Avatar
    bob jain

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy? —>that’s a million dollar question

    Reply
  52. bob jain Avatar
    bob jain

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy? —>that’s a million dollar question

    Reply
  53. bob jain Avatar
    bob jain

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy? —>that’s a million dollar question

    Reply
  54. bob jain Avatar
    bob jain

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy? —>that’s a million dollar question

    Reply
  55. bob jain Avatar
    bob jain

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy? —>that’s a million dollar question

    Reply
  56. bob jain Avatar
    bob jain

    Who is protecting the boss from his own idiocy? —>that’s a million dollar question

    Reply

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