Meeting with royalty

Royalty lives very differently than a lot of us. At their disposal, on-site, they have lovely staff ranging from butlers, housekeepers, cooks, nurses, and more, each hired for their unique skills.

Royalty lives very differently than a lot of us. At their disposal, on-site, they have lovely staff ranging from butlers, housekeepers, cooks, nurses, and more, each hired for their unique skills and abilities. Together, by request, the staff responds to the needs of the royal family.

Our organizations aren’t that much different. We have different roles and status levels, and everyone is hired for their expertise, experience and because they are the best at what they do. And together, they serve toward the success of the organization.

Meetings are how we ask for help. At a certain point, when we’re not careful, we start to treat each other as royalty staff. We request meetings with employees for everything. And every time, we take away from their ability to do the work we hired them to do.

And if our role has a higher level of status, requesting a meeting is like telling others to drop what they are doing and come to our disposal.

Instead, we need to treat a meeting more like a royal ball invitation. One that isn’t given out on a whim and comes with an invitation letter purposefully crafted with a date and time, and a clear explanation for the purpose of their presence.

Let’s raise the stakes for inviting each other; seek to invite modestly, not request often. Do the upfront work, don’t just ring the bell.

Here are a few questions to consider as we prepare to organize a meeting:

1. Can it be done asynchronously? Most meetings can. Reserve meetings for intricate and challenging problem solving and team bonding.

2. Who are the stakeholders? Not everyone needs to be there. Depending on the purpose, invite people who will contribute to or be impacted by it the most.

3. What do they need to know? Write a memo or share a document detailing everything everyone needs to know. Don’t waste time catching people up during the meeting.

4. How will they contribute? If your answer is, I only need their attention to provide an update; reconsider. That is not a valid reason for a meeting. Be clear about what you need from each invitee so they can come prepared and ready to participate.

If you invite more people than necessary on the off chance that you might insult uninvited guests, then you may need to have a different kind of meeting.

Thinking ahead prevents premature invitations and disruptions. More often than not, meetings are unnecessary. When we plan them poorly, one often leads to another.

Miguel,
Sparknotion – Think Differently.