|
Originally sent on June 30, 2023
Hi Barb,
A few years ago, I arrived at a job site a bit early, so I could walk around and sense the environment in which I’d be working.
Large windows brought in lots of natural light – good. Unneeded furniture was pushed aside – also good. But those two clashing colors of paint on the walls – ooh, yuck.
And, oddly, someone had already placed yellow stickies haphazardly on the walls.
“Ah,” I thought. “They know how to communicate with someone like me!”
I read some of the notes, which had words like “thin,” “rough” and “dip” on them. Others were blank.
The person guiding me waved his arm at the stickies and said, “Just ignore those; they were left by the owner’s mother. She’s anal about stuff like that.”
I took the job. But let me be clear: I wasn’t going to be leading a planning meeting or board retreat in that room.
Why not? Because I was their newly hired painting contractor.
(Were you surprised?)
It’s true that stickies have more to do with facilitation than painting. However, painting and facilitation do have one crucial thing in common: Preparation.
Whether you are planning for a meeting or completing a painting project, the better your preparation, the more successful your outcome, and the less likely it is that you will be surprised. And even if you are surprised, you will be able to adjust on the fly.
To learn more about preparing for meetings, read my latest blog, Brush up your meeting preparation.
If you are in the US, I hope you have prepared to have a restful holiday weekend!
I’ll be painting our shed – how about you?
Warmly,
Barb Bickford
If an event has already occurred, the links in this email may not work. Questions? Contact Barb.
Nine tips to decrease the stress of Board meeting preparation
Wendy Burtner, co-founder of Non-Profit Sidekick, an online community for non-profit leaders, offers these tips to help make your Board meetings go more smoothly.
RestUP: How leaders can get more rest
It’s not just about sleep! There are several types of rest, and we need rest to lead well. If you are a member of the Meeting Innovation Community (MIC), join us on July 27th, from 12:30 to 2:00 Central time, to identify ways to get just a little more rest. Learn about the event and register.
Ecocycle Planning / Grow and Let Go - August 16, 2023
Did you miss our workshop "Grow and Let Go" which featured Ecocycle Planning? Pencil in August 16th for an online workshop jointly offered by the Pacific Northwest and Minnesota Organizational Development Networks. No experience necessary -- this workshop is open to anyone interested in planning, innovation and change. Registration opens soon!
Recent Blog posts
-- Brush up your meeting preparation
-- Leading with paradox
-- Evaluate your meetings
My current workshops and courses
Request input before your meetings
To foster more informed discussions during your next meeting, try any of the following:
- Send materials and questions in advance for your meeting participants to review. Participants can prepare at their own pace and form opinions or ideas before the meeting. You may want to ask your team how much time would help them to review things. If they are living with a disability such as dyslexia or autism, or if they read English slowly, they may need more time than you expect.
- Encourage your participants to share their thoughts and ideas before the meeting starts. They can interact on a shared electronic document, through email, or some other collaborative tool like Slack or a whiteboard. Or you can encourage them to talk with others by phone or face-to-face.
- Start your meeting with short, focused discussions. Whether or not you sent anything in advance, the first few minutes of a meeting are crucial for helping everyone to speak up later. Simply invite your participants to think about a question for a couple minutes then talk in pairs about it. This warms up their minds and voices, and in particular, it empowers the quieter participants to feel safer about speaking during larger group discussions.
To learn more about preparing for meetings, read my latest blog.
Want more tips? Access Ten Tips to Foster Online Engagement.
If you were forwarded this email and want to subscribe click here
| 
