Did anybody else notice this? These days when I'm preparing for a meeting, it's like I'm preparing for a fight. I'm not sure when exactly this started, but it's been happening for a while.
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It's because no one wants to take ownership of an issue if it's already 'an issue.' Lots of denial and finger-pointing.
" If you can replace a meeting with a couple of quick phone calls or an email, that’s what you should do"
Meetings are the only time many employees can be accounted for. RTO has shown just how little work many employees are doing.
When someone gets angry in a meeting, just let them finish. When they're done and there's a little silence, just say "wow..." They never know what to do with that. >__<
Agree. Everyone is stressed trying to prove their worth to keep their jobs and responsibilities. Lots of land-grabbing by leaders to ensure they have span of control to justify keeping their titles and jobs. It’s toxic and gross. Surely it isn’t like this elsewhere. I hope there are companies where they just GSD and everyone works hard and there is no need for land grabs/territorial stuff.
Like one of the other posters mentioned, it’s because of how we’ve devalued the “meeting”over the last couple of decades. AT&T’s silo management philosophy doesn’t help much either.
Nobody answers the phone anymore (assuming they have one) and we’ve replaced that critical 1x1 communication with Teams messaging and a non-critical vessel of communication: e-mail. We basically just schedule/spawn meetings for everything now, regardless of the criticality, because it somewhat proves we are working toward a goal, objective, etc, provides CYA and almost always forces participation (like I already setup 2 calls and he/she didn’t attend so now I’m escalating to their boss).
It doesn’t really matter what the “why” is anymore for me. Research, analysis, development, working session, brainstorming….who cares. I just schedule meetings and escalate when I can’t get people to join.
while others have to compensate verbally representing themselves as knowledgeable
And then there's the 78 year old carrot who is struggling to do even that.
Some managers need a meeting to justify their position, my team could do without them. It only slows productivity, just send us the huddle we can read.
Most meetings are unnecessary. I don’t schedule them unless absolutely required. If you can replace a meeting with a couple of quick phone calls or an email, that’s what you should do. There are still people around that think the measure of the “work” they do is the number of meetings they hold/ attend. Most of these types contribute nothing in said meetings; don’t even say anything. They are as unnecessary as most of the meetings they attend.
Its survival mode - the smart ones tend to be quiet, their actions reflect their knowledge while others have to compensate verbally representing themselves as knowledgeable, can you guess which ones have to work harder in meetings
Maybe it's you
SPARTA !!!! if plebians cannot survive the fights. You are not worthy in our empire.