Google's HR boss says this simple technique will make your meetings more efficient
If you're using meetings correctly, however, they can be excellent opportunities to help guide your team to a higher level of overall performance.
There's a simple pre- and post-meeting habit that will help you get the most out of meetings, says Google's SVP of People Operations Laszlo Bock in his book "Work Rules!"
The exercise is straightforward: If you're a manager, ask each of your employees shortly before the meeting how they plan on making the most of it, and once it's done ask them what they took from it. You can do this on your own, as well, to keep yourself focused.
It's a technique Bock picked up from Frank Wagner, Google's director of compensation, when they worked together as consultants with Hewitt Associates in 1994.
Wagner, Bock's superior at the time, would take Bock aside a few minutes before a client meeting and ask him questions like: "What are your goals for this meeting?" "How do you think each client will respond?" and "How do you plan to introduce a difficult topic?"
Hachette
Bock found the debriefing to be important to his career development.
And as Bock answered the questions, he'd also ask Wagner to clarify aspects of the dynamic between him and the client, and why Wagner behaved the way he did regarding different issues that arose.
"I shared responsibility with him for ensuring I was improving," Bock writes.
He says he often still uses this exercise with his team before they meet with other Google employees, since it's not only for client meetings. It's about making any kind of group meeting an active, valuable experience.
The questions can be adjusted to the situation and employee, focusing on how to best keep that individual engaged and concerned with achieving personal goals.
Bock says that the exercise is an "almost magical" way to boost your team's performance, since it yields results with minimum effort.
"It also trains your people to use themselves as their own experiments, asking questions, trying new approaches, observing what happens, and then trying again," Bock writes.
- RBI Governor Das discusses ways to scale up UPI ecosystem with stakeholders
- People find ChatGPT to have a better moral compass than real humans, study reveals
- TVS Motor Company net profit rises 15% to ₹387 crore in March quarter
- Canara Bank Q4 profit rises 18% to ₹3,757 crore
- Indegene IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market