In our increasingly regulated and controlled working lives, it is easy to feel that we are just part of a big machine, doing repetitive and dull jobs. This is particularly the case if you work in call centres or other environments where there is a set script to follow. Motivation, and therefore performance, tend to be low which affects profitability.
Does it have to be this way? Does this get the best out of our staff?
When I saw a review of the book “Die Kunst des klugen Handelns” (The Art of Acting Cleverly) which started with the words:
“Try to get through life with a minimum of information. You will make better decisions. What you do not need to know remains worthless even if you are aware of it.”
That got me thinking! When running training sessions I sometimes pose the question “Is it better to make a decision without data or one with data of unknown quality?” to try and get people thinking about decision making and the role that data plays in it.
In this context I don’t mean the thing you’re sitting 
on but the person leading the meeting! Chairing is a skill that we’re expected to learn by osmosis and the thought of leading a meeting can strike fear into the inexperienced.
Here are some rules and tips to help you manage your meetings with confidence
I think all people who are involved in data in any way would like to be in a position where they were no data defects and data could be relied upon 100%. Is this achievable?
I regularly use a comparison between approaches to health and safety/ work practices and the approaches to data. A recent achievement on a major project I am involved with provides another example of how we should perhaps be approaching data.
When discussing data quality issues, we frequently address issues where inconsistent data can lead to analysis problems.
The 2012 Olympics present an interesting variant where the input data is the same, but leads to a different answer…
When I run facilitation training courses , the most common fear for the newly qualified is usually “What will I do if people fall out and it turns nasty?” In reality this rarely happens but it does cause anxiety for meeting leaders when they are preparing. Here are some useful tips 
for dealing with this
When you start chairing meetings one of the main worries is 
how to keep control of the meeting. Often some of the delegates will be more senior and/or more experienced and it’s easy to feel alone and vulnerable. Here are some tips to ensure you keep calm and in control
As people, we are all complex creatures and approach situations in many different ways. This is often seen in meetings. There are the people who like a meeting to be fast paced and decisive but also people who like to discuss, reflect and reach a consensus. When leading a meeting it can be a delicate balancing act to keep everyone on board.
Sometimes the behaviour of delegates can interfere with the running of the meeting so here are some tips to keep things on track when chairing a meeting
Many times throughout my career, when investigating a particular problem, people have made comments along the lines of:
“But we’re the [Insert any industry name here] industry, our problems are unique, no-one has the same problems”
“The challenges of [Insert any job title] are different, no other role has these challenges”
Is this a valid assertion?
There are many different types and styles of meeting but one of their common characteristics is that to be efficient, decisions have to be made and actions given out. It’s not about the talking but what that leads to that counts.